A. Hameed critically ill

LAHORE, April 13: Urdu fiction writer Abdul Hameed is critically ill and is being treated at Jinnah Hospital's Intensive Care Unit. Doctors have diagnosed acute pneumonia which has badly affected his lungs. He was brought to the ICU 10 days ago and is on ventilator. Mrs Hameed told Dawn (at the hospital) that some two weeks ago Hameed's condition worsened as he had severe cough. He never had such serious illness in 80 years, she said. She expressed hope that her husband would recover soon and complete the autobiography he was working on. His wife said he even had a name of the autobiography in mind. "Hameed asked me a month ago what name I should choose for my autobiography and then himself suggested a title Chhor aaye wo gallian." She said he even asked for papers to write something for his autobiography when he was admitted to the hospital but then his condition deteriorated. A. Hameed's son, Masood Hameed (a teacher at the National College of Arts), said no government functionary had visited his father who had great contribution to Urdu literature. However, he said, the Punjab government was bearing the expenses of his treatment at the hospital. He said his father had left Voice of America because he never felt comfortable there. He quoted his father as having said: "I can't live anywhere in the world except Lahore. I am in love with the city". Attaul Haq Qasmi, a close friend of A. Hameed, told Dawn that the Punjab government had given Rs2.9 million for his treatment.