Tariq Mahmood Mirza (1st June 1961 – present) is a prominent Pakistani-Australian writer of Urdu literature and columnist in many Urdu magazines and newspapers around the world.

Born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Mirza moved to Karachi in 1977 after passing his matriculation exams at his local school. Hailing from a middle-class, orphaned, Punjabi family, it was his mother’s dream for her children to gain a well-rounded education and successful employment, hence his move to the cultural hub of Karachi. There, he obtained a diploma in Mechanical Engineering in 1983, thereafter joining the Ministry of Defense Engineering Services. During this time, he continued his education to obtain a Masters in Islamic Studies from Karachi University in 1988, and in whatever spare time he found, enjoyed reading and writing short stories in various magazines. From 1988 to 1992, he worked at the Ministry of Defense in Engineering Services at the Sultanate of Oman as a Mechanical Engineer.

In 1994, he moved to Sydney, Australia as a skilled migrant where he settled with his wife and three children and soon after began his own business. He then began his literary career in the Urdu Society of Australia from 1996 – 2005, published his own newspaper, ‘Overseas Fortnightly’ from 1998 to 2003 and ‘ Sada e Jaras online’ from 2003 to 2013. He was involved in Urdu International Australia as an executive member from 2015 – 2020.

Currently, he is the head of the New South Wales wing of the Pak Literary Foundation of Australia who organise Urdu literary events.

He regularly writes columns for ‘Hum Watan Sydney’,‘Urdu Post Canada’,‘The Voice of Pakistan Islamabad’‘Pukar International France’ and ‘Urdu Net Japan’.While his stories and literary articles are published in journals like Urdu Digest,Simat, Silsala, Shagoofa, aryang and Fanoon.

At present, he is a language ambassador of the Urdu Language in Blacktown City Council libraries and is currently conducting research on the late Sub continental philosopher and poet, Allama Muhammad Iqbal.

In his leisure time, Mirza enjoys travelling and has visited many different parts of the world, specifically nineteen countries, including Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan, Thailand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. His tourism experiences, sentiments and musings thus inspire his travelogues. Importantly, what stands Mirza out from other Urdu travelogue writers, whose focus is primarily buildings etc, is his detailed descriptions of nature, landscapes and people. He masterfully then uses his unique story-writing skills to weave the many inner stories of the people and their world, into the greater, outer story.

Literary works:

Tariq Mirza has written and published five Urdu books in total.

1. ‘Khushboo Ka Safar’ (2008)

2. ‘Talash-E-Rah’ (2015)

3. ‘Safar-E-Ishq’ (2016)

4. ‘Dunya Rang Rangili’ (2019)

5. ‘Mulkon Mulkon Dekha Chand’ (2021)

Tariq Mirza has been awarded for his literary achievements from the Urdu Society of Australia, the Academy of Letters Pakistan, Pak Tea house Lahore, Beli of Denmark, Urdu International of Australia, and Dareecha Oslo of Norway.