Pakistan, on Sunday, observed the 81st death anniversary of poet and philosopher, Allama Muhammad Iqbal. Born in Sialkot, the widely-acclaimed Shair-e-Mashriq (Poet of the East) is considered among the most important figures in South Asian literature. He has published works in both Urdu and Persian. Iqbal also rose to surface as an advocate of Muslim rights when he used his pen to champion revolutionary concepts. The great poet’s phenomenal words still remain much relevant, even in the present day. Some of his best works include Asrar-e-Khudi, Payam-i-Mashriq, Bang-i-Dara, Bal-i-Jibril, Zarb-i Kalim and Armughan-e-Hijaz. Iqbal’s work has been translated in Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, English and several other languages.