Veteran labour leader, senior journalist laid to rest in Islamabad’s graveyard

2026-03-25 - 00:21

Khan Nisar ‘finally’ released from mortal imprisonment Renowned labour union leader who later switched over to journalism and spent decades championing rights of media workers as well as refining/editing stories of reporters first in The Muslim and later The News International, Khan Muhammad Nisar was buried in Chak Shehzad graveyard here Tuesday. He passed away a day earlier on Monday, March 23. His Rasm-e-Qul will be held on Wednesday (today) 2.00 p.m. at his residence H.191 Street. No. 4 Shehzad Town. Khan Nisar is survived by two sons and a daughter. His wife had already passed away in 2009. Khan Nisar’s funeral prayers were attended by his longtime associates of The Muslim and The News International and during the days of struggle for workers’ rights including Syed Qamar Abbas, Nasir Zaidi, Ishaq Chaudhry, Ejaz Malik, B.K Bangash, Dr Tanveer and others. A strong champion of factory workers’ rights, a stellar union leader who united once scattered mill workers, cement, textile factories and fertilizer units’ labourers across Punjab in the days of the PPP and later Zia governments, Khan Nisar was revered by the workers as a champion of their rights. From Daud Khel (Mianwali) his hometown to Faisalabad, from Multan to Gujranwala, factories opened and closed at Khan Nisar’s beck and call. The longest strike during his tenure as President of the Federation of the factory workers was recorded for 28 days and according to Ameer Muhammad, younger brother of Khan Nisar, the then Governor of Punjab Ghulam Mustafa Khar was so upset that he had ordered the police to arrest Khan Nisar ‘dead or alive.’ Khan Nisar was constantly on the run and the Punjab police was looking for him everywhere, said Ameer Muhammad. My brother spent one night in one city and the other night in another city. Once I learned that he was in Multan I travelled to the city but was arrested by the police in a fake FIR, recalled Ameer Muhammad. He said his brother had to face the consequence of his struggle for the rights of the industry workers. He was imprisoned and later the provincial government declared Multan out of bounds for him. Thus ended one phase of his distinguished career. Ameer Muhammad recounted many instances when Khan Nisar was offered lucrative positions and huge sums for giving up his labour rights activism but he turned down all those offers saying he could not ‘sell’ his workers’ blood. After he lost his job, he came to Islamabad and joined the Muslim newspaper as senior sub-editor. There too, the employees were facing discrimination and violation of rights. Again, he was up for the rights of the journalists, united them and played a key role in securing long-delayed dues for the workers after the newspaper’s closure, a significant achievement in Pakistan’s media labor landscape. After The Muslim, he joined The News but the last phase of his career at the newspaper turned out to be a bad experience. There was resentment among the workers as their salaries were not revised for years and the management was not very responsive to their demands. Following his longtime colleagues, Khan Nisar also quit job but refused to compromise on principles. According to a senior journalist, it was sad to see that none of the government representatives had bothered to come to express condolences with Khan Nisar’s family at this difficult hour. Once we used to raise slogans “Khan Nisar ko Reha Karo” or “Release Khan Nisar” and today he is finally released from his mortal imprisonment, said he.