KABUL (SW) – Prominent literary figure Mohammad Azam Rahnavard Zaryab died on Friday at the age of 76 in Kabul.
He was hospitalized for some time due to his illness. Lutfollah Najafizada, one of Zaryab’s colleagues, confirmed his death in a tweet, saying that Zaryab had contracted coronavirus in recent weeks.
Zaryab was one of the prominent writers and novelists of Persian language in Afghanistan whose works are familiar to the cultural communities of Iran, Tajikistan and India as well.
Rahnavard Zaryab was born in Kabul and had graduated from Kabul University with a degree in journalism and later earned a master’s degree in the same field from the University of South Wales in the United Kingdom.
Rahnavard Zaryab was fluent in English and was also well-versed in philosophy, psychology and sociology.
He has authored dozens of literary works including more than a hundred short stories and several novels, some of which have been published in collections. He was married to renowned literary figure Spozmay Zaryab and has left behind three sons
Zaryab migrated to France during the civil war and returned to Kabul after the fall of the Taliban. In addition to writing, he worked as the President of the Writers’ Association of Afghanistan and for some time as an advisor to the Ministry of Information and Culture.
President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani called the death of Zaryab as a great loss in the field of literature and culture of the country. President Ghani said that Professor Zaryab spent many years of his life as a writer, novelist, and cultural activist in the country, leaving a lasting legacy.
Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the High Council of National Reconciliation, said in his message that the death of Zaryab was a great loss to Afghanistan.
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