Ishtiaq Ahmad

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Ishtiaq Ahmad (or Ishtiaq Ahmed or اﺸﺘﻴﺎﻖ اﺤﻤﺩ in Urdu), is primarily a fiction writer from Lahore, Pakistan (originally from Jhang,Pakistan), famous for his spy, detective novels in the Urdu language, and is the author of the highest number of novels (his 773rd novel is published by Atlantis Publications in April 2011) by any author in any language throughout the world.[citation needed] He started by writing short stories for children and then wrote his first novel in 1973. He was at his peak of popularity in the ’70s to ’90s due to his Inspector Jamshed series, Inspector Kamran Mirza series, and Shoki series. As of 2011 he is an editor of the magazine, Bachon ka islam and writing novels for Atlantis Publications, Karachi.

Ahmad has authored hundreds of suspense thriller novels in Urdu for children and include characters such as Inspector Jamshed, Inspector Kamran Mirza as well as the Shoki brothers.

Ahmad novels always start with a Hadith, followed by “Doo Batain” (Two Words), although the order was reversed in the beginning.

The “Doo Batain” section started as a way to address the reader. It often contained news about the author, his interpretation of world events, possibly a preview regarding the story, or at times, a completely off the topic narrative. The ultimate purpose of this was to inform and entertain. Notable ones began with: “Doo Batain: Batain to shoro ker chuka, ab aagay kiya khaak likhoon ga?”

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