Mustafa Zaidi (born Syed Mustafa Hasnain Zaidi; 10 October 1930 – 12 October 1970) was a Pakistani Urdu poet and a civil servant.

Early life

In 1954, he passed the competitive examination and was sent to England for training before being given the posts of deputy commissioner and deputy secretary. He married Vera Zaidi, a German national, with whom he had a son and a daughter. In June 1970, he was dismissed from civil service along with 38 other Civil Service of Pakistan [CSP] officers by the dictatorial regime of General Yahya Khan.

Death

He died on 12 October 1970, two days after his 40th birthday, in Karachi under mysterious circumstances and was laid to rest at Wadi-e-Hussain cemetery Karachi. At the time of his death, Shehnaz Gul, a contractor's wife, was found beside him unconscious. Some believed that Zaidi was murdered while others thought he committed suicide. In 2024, Saba Imtiaz and Tooba Masood-Khan wrote Society Girl, which explores Zaidi's mysterious death and her affair with Shahnaz Gul.

Literary works

He also wrote under his pen-name Tegh Allahabadi. His initial poetry was romantic in nature. At the age of 17, he published his first collection of poetry Zangeerein (1949), followed by Roshni (1950), Shehr-e-Azar (City of Idol Worshippers; 1958), Mauj Meri Sadaf Sadaf (1960), Garebaan (1964), Qaba-e-Saaz (1967) and Koh-e-Nida (1971, published posthumously). His complete work was published as Kulliyaat-i-Mustafa Zaidi posthumously.