Journalist Tahir Ikram passes away at 59

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 10 December 2023

ISLAMABAD—Tahir Ikram, a former Thomson Reuters journalist and trailblazing program director of Samaa TV, passed away in a Kuala Lumpur hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The cause of death was confirmed as a massive heart attack that occurred over the preceding weekend. At the time of his passing, Tahir, 59, held the position of news editor Asia at ICIS in Singapore.

Born on 27 November 1964 in Rawalpindi to Ikramul Haq, then chief reporter of Pakistan Times, and Mrs. A. Rasheed, a professor of Arabic at the Government College for Women, Satellite Town, Tahir's educational journey included St Mary's Academy, Murree Road, and the Islamabad College for Boys. Following his graduation from Gordon College in 1983, he embarked on a journalistic career, following in the footsteps of his father, who had joined Dawn in 1948.

Tahir's early years in journalism included working as a reporter for the PPI news agency. He later became part of the first-ever Islamabad bureau of The Nation, a newly launched Lahore-based English language daily. Additionally, he served as the capital correspondent for The Frontier Post during a brief stint.

In the early 2000s, Tahir's decade-long association with Thomson Reuters in Islamabad provided significant learning experiences. As a senior correspondent, he managed a team of fellow reporters, seamlessly blending economic reporting with administrative prowess. His journey then took him to Karachi, where he transitioned to electronic media. He served as the director of programs at CNBC Pakistan before assuming a similar role as the founding programming director at Samaa in 2007.

Following changes in senior management that led to editorial confusion at Samaa, Tahir decided to leave the channel. He relocated to Singapore, taking on the role of news editor Asia at ICIS, a news agency specializing in the chemical industry.

Survived by his wife Samra Tahir, two grown-up children, and a large circle of friends and former colleagues, Tahir Ikram's sudden demise leaves a void in the field of journalism.

Plans are underway to fly his body to Islamabad for the funeral, details of which will be announced later this week.