Background
Qasmi was born in the village of Anga(Danga) in Khushab District, British India.
Qasmi was born in the village of Anga(Danga) in Khushab District, British India.
Later he studied at Sadiq Egerton College in Bahawalpur. He graduated from the University of the Punjab, Lahore in 1935.
He wrote 50 books on topics such as poetry, fiction, criticism, journalism and art, and was a major figure in contemporary Urdu literature. He was also editor and publisher of the literary magazine Funoon for almost half a century. Qasmi had a long career as a writer and editors
He edited several prominent literary journals, including Phool, Tehzeeb-i-Niswaan, Adab-i-Lateef, Savera, Naqoosh, and his own journal, Funoon.
He also worked as the editor of the Urdu daily Imroze. Qasimi contributed weekly columns to national newspapers like Rawan Dawan and Daily Jang for several decades.
His poetry has included both traditional ghazals and modern nazms. In 1948, he was selected as the secretary general of the Anjuman-e-Taraqqi Pasand Musannifeen (Progressive Writers Movement) for Punjab.
In 1949, he was elected the secretary-general of the organisation for Pakistan.
In 1962, Qasmi published his own literary magazine Fanoon, with the support of writers and poets including Khadija Mastoor, Hajra Masroor, Ahmed Faraz, Amjad Islam Amjad, Ata ul Haq Qasmi, Munnoo Bhai and Nazir Naji. Qasami was the mentor of poet Parveen Shakir. In 1974, he was appointed secretary-general of Majlis-Taraqee-Adab, a literary body established by the government of West Pakistan in 1958.
An example of Qasmi"s writing style is:
Dawar-e hashr! mujhe teri qasam
Umr bhar mein ne ibadat ki hay
Tu mera namaa-e-amal tau dekh
Mein ne insaan se mohabbat ki hay
A translation is:
O Lord of the Day of Judgment
I swear by you
I have worshipped all my life
Look at my balance sheet
I have loved mankind.