ISLAMABAD:ZahidMalik,theeditor-inchief of English daily Pakistan Observer, passedaway afteralongillnesson Thursday.

He was 78.

He was laid to rest at Islamabad`s old graveyard in Sector H-8, near Zero Point.

His funeral was attended by a large number of people belonging to all walks of life.

Born on Oct 5, 1937, he did his Masters in mass communications in 1960. He then joined the civil service, going on to become joint secretary in the information ministry.

Af ter an early retirement, he founded his own publication house in 1978 and launched the Pakistan Observer in Islamabad.

Mr Malik authored 12 books, besides writing over 2,000 articles for newspapers and magazines. His Urdu-language book, Public Relations, won a Writers Guild award.

The government conferred the Sitara-iImtiaz on Mr Malik in 2011 in recognition of his contribution to journalism, promotion ofISLAMABAD:ZahidMalik,theeditor-inchief of English daily Pakistan Observer, passedaway afteralongillnesson Thursday.

He was 78.

He was laid to rest at Islamabad`s old graveyard in Sector H-8, near Zero Point.

His funeral was attended by a large number of people belonging to all walks of life.

Born on Oct 5, 1937, he did his Masters in mass communications in 1960. He then joined the civil service, going on to become joint secretary in the information ministry.

Af ter an early retirement, he founded his own publication house in 1978 and launched the Pakistan Observer in Islamabad.

Mr Malik authored 12 books, besides writing over 2,000 articles for newspapers and magazines. His Urdu-language book, Public Relations, won a Writers Guild award.

The government conferred the Sitara-iImtiaz on Mr Malik in 2011 in recognition of his contribution to journalism, promotion ofthe ideology of Pakistan and writings about religion.

Mr Malik was patron-in-chief of the Nazaria-i-Pakistan Council, chairman of the International Seerat Centre and the Foundation for Coexistence of Civilisations.

He was also the founder-chairman of a think-tank, `101 Friends of China`, a nongovernmental organisation which works for improving Pakistan-China ties. He was conferred an honorary PhD at a convocation of the Dadabhoy Institute of Higher Education in Karachi in 2013.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari of fered condolences to Zahid Malik`s family over his death.

Sarmad Ali, the president of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society, and Umer Mujib Shami, its general secretary, said in a statement that Mr Malik was regarded an authority on matters relating to media, recalling his participation in a number of international seminars on mass media and journalism.