| Birth Name |
Mushtaq Ali Qureshi |
| Pen Name |
Wafa |
| Born |
Saturday، 15 May 1943 |
| Birth Place: |
Amritsar |
| Died |
Monday، 03 January 2005 |
| Remains in |
Karachi |
Wafa Nathanshahi (1943–2005), born Mushtaq Ali Qureshi on May 15, 1943, in Amritsar, was a Sindhi poet who wrote thousands of ghazals and poems in various genres.
Wafa Nathanshahi's ancestors migrated from Bandyala to Sindh and settled in the village of Gozi, located in the Khairpur Nathan Shah area of Dadu District. Due to poverty, his education remained limited, but he later completed his Intermediate, BA, MA (Political Science), and Law studies.
Growing up in Gozi in a Sindhi cultural environment and inheriting a love for music from his father, Wafa was drawn to poetry. He wrote his first ghazal in 1963 and adopted the pen name "Wafa." His mentor was Mohsin Kukrai. Wafa set aside Punjabi and embraced Sindhi poetry as his medium of expression. He created approximately 2,500 to 3,000 ghazals, along with hundreds of poems, haikus, couplets, and quatrains.
His notable poetry collections include "Akhain Mein Almas" (2000), "Ujaggan Jo Ant", and "Wafa" (2004). Wafa holds a central place in the modern history of Sindhi ghazals. His work is distinguished by its innovation and the originality of ideas, traits rarely seen in other poets.
Wafa passed away on January 3, 2005, in Karachi. His poetry remains a valuable asset to Sindhi literature, deserving preservation and celebration for generations to come.
