Muhammad Yasir Pirzada

Muhammad Yasir Pirzada, born 24 February 1974, is a Pakistani writer and columnist based in Lahore. He is the son of famous Urdu writer Ata ul Haq Qasmi. His weekly column "Zara Hat Kay" in Daily Jang, Pakistan’s most widely circulated Urdu daily; and his fortnightly column with the name "Off the beaten track" in The News, a leading English daily,addresses issues of an ordinary citizen in humorous style.

Yasir did his graduation from Government College, Lahore and then joined The Nation, an English daily. He later acquired post-graduate degree in Political Science from University of the Punjab and then joined Civil Services of Pakistan.
While doing his Masters from University of the Punjab, Yasir wrote some columns in daily Nawa-i-Waqt with the name of "Zara Hat Key". However, since November 2006, Yasir has been writing regular weekly column in Daily Jang; and since October 2009 a fortnightly column in the YOU Magazine of daily The News.

Yasir also holds the record of being the youngest candidate ever to pass the country’s intensely competitive Central Superior Services (CSS) examination in 1996. As a federal officer, he has served as Deputy Commissioner, Inland Revenue, currently working as Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue and Deputy Program Director in the federal and provincial government respectively.

Yasir's columns approach a variety of social issues directly relevant to the human condition and Pakistan’s emerging bitter-sweet psyche. Yasir has inherited this light-hearted yet serious mood of writing from his father, Ata ul Haq Qasmi, himself a respected literary figure. However, it is clear from a comparison of both that Yasir’s style dwells firmly in the contemporary, his allusions being rooted in the day to day language of young Pakistanis who look beyond their own literary tradition to other dominant cultures, be the music or the written word.

Yasir has also been writing TV serials for different channels including a sitcom for PTV, Afsar Bekaar Khaas, a serialized portfolio of episodes grounded in Pakistan’s archaic officialdom. More than 90 episodes of this sitcom have already gone on air on Pakistan Television.

Yasir also wrote first 22 episodes of a political satire TV show with the name of Darling  for Express News, a Pakistani news channel.

Yasir is supportive of leftist ideas and is also promoting a relatively unknown band "Beghairat Brigade" whose outrightly critical songs about the country are a source of amusement in the hawkish Indian Media.

Yasir also hosted a television talk show Choraha on Geo News. This program was a representation of Lahori culture where men of a mohalla get together in the evening, sit on a Choraha and discuss issues which are prevalent to their interests.

Yasir has also been declared as the Best Columnist of the Year 2009–10 by All Pakistan Newspaper Society (APNS).

Yasir's first book with the name "Zara Hat Key" was launched in May 2009.This book is a collection of his columns published in Daily Jang from 2006 to 2008.

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