Shahid Nadeem

Shahid Mahmood Nadeem (born 1947 in Sopore, Kashmir) is widely regarded as Pakistan’s leading playwright, as well as a journalist, screenwriter, director, and prominent human rights activist. Nadeem has written more than 50 original stage plays in Urdu and Punjabi, numerous adaptations—including works by Bertolt Brecht—and several acclaimed television series for Pakistan Television (PTV). He serves as executive director and principal playwright of Ajoka Theatre, Pakistan’s foremost non-commercial theater group, known for its socially engaged productions and advocacy for justice, secularism, and women’s rights.

Nadeem began his career as a human rights and social activist in Lahore. During the military regime of General Zia-ul-Haq, he was imprisoned multiple times for his peaceful activism and dissident theater work, and in 1980 was forced into exile. He worked for Amnesty International in London and Hong Kong throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, before returning to Pakistan and joining Ajoka Theatre as a full-time writer and, later, director.

His plays—such as Barri (Acquittal), Bulha, Burqavaganza, and Kaun Hai Yeh Gustakh—have been staged across South Asia, Europe, and North America, and are included in university curricula in India and Pakistan. Nadeem’s work is noted for its fearless engagement with political repression, religious intolerance, and gender injustice. He has published widely in international outlets, including The Far Eastern Economic Review, The Frontline, Index on Censorship, and The Socialist Women.

Nadeem has received numerous honors, including the President of Pakistan’s Pride of Performance Award, the PEN International Fellowship, and the Masood Khadarposh Award. He continues to shape Pakistan’s cultural landscape as a writer, director, and advocate for human rights and artistic freedom.