Reunion of Azeem Sarwar’s prodigies

Pakistan News & Features Services

Azeem Sarwar, having been hailed as the greatest all-round broadcaster to emerge from Pakistan, is credited to have produced quite a few historic radio programmes. One of them was ‘Aalami Sports Round Up’ whose popularity had broken all records.

Launched in 1985, the programme had become an instant hit not only in Pakistan but all across the sub-continent wherever the transmission could be heard. It’s still talked about with great reverence. 

Azeem Sarwar’s magnetic personality had inspired a lot of youngsters who were aspiring to graduate into mainstream sports journalism. 

The majority of them accomplished their goal and they are among the top-notchers in the profession, much to the delight and satisfaction of their mentor. 

Recently a get-together of Team Aalami Sports Round Up was held at the Union Club, housed in PECHS, Karachi, in which half a dozen of its members were present. Arif Afzal Usmani, now Chief Editor of the New York-based Asia Tribune Weekly, presented a momento to Azeem Sarwar on behalf of the Team Aalami Sports Round Up. Sardar Khan, Shahid Akhtar Hashmi, Abdul Rasheed Shakoor and Syed Khalid Mahmood were also present on the occasion. 

Azeem Sarwar, whose versatility as a writer, analyst, producer and commentator is considered legendary, had conceived the idea of producing a sports programme for Radio Pakistan on a daily basis in Urdu. He had visualized that having a radio programme that broadcasts the news and reports of the latest sporting action all over the world will catch the imagination of the listeners who otherwise didn’t have an access to timely information. 

He was proved absolutely right. It turned out to be a master stroke. It was for the first time in Radio Pakistan’s history that such a programme had been planned. There had been odd radio shows on sports in the past but no one before him could envision having a daily sports programme of international standard. 

Alaami Sports Round Up revolved around Azeem Sarwar but being a visionary leader, he kept inducting the youngsters who had the passion for sports and possessed the talents to transcribe and broadcast. Being a hard task master, he never compromised on quality and kept his teammates motivated at all times. 

His inspirational brilliance instilled confidence in those youngsters and urged them to do better in order to make a name for themselves in the profession of writing and broadcasting. He himself was the role model for all his teammates who always looked forward to him for guidance and support. 

Those being a part of his team considered themselves fortunate because they were able to learn a lot by getting an opportunity to work alongside him. He’s the man who encouraged the aspiring writers and broadcasters to improve their skills. It was after his training and tutoring that they joined the mainstream journalism and the rest is history.