Saleem Gillani

Gillani began his professional career in journalism, working with Zamindar newspaper under Maulana Zafar Ali Khan. In 1952, he joined Radio Pakistan as a news editor. He later worked for three years with the VOA Urdu service before returning to Pakistan, where he rose through the ranks at Radio Pakistan, eventually serving as director general.^[1]

During his service at Radio Pakistan, Gillani introduced the hourly news bulletin, a format that was subsequently adopted as part of the network's regular programming. His poetry, particularly his naat collection "Syedena" was performed by artists such as Farida Khanum, Mehnaz, Arifa Siddiqui, and Ustad Nazar Hussain. He also introduced Mehdi Hassan and Reshma to the music industry.^[1]

During his service as head of Radio Pakistan's transcription service, Gillani established the Sound Archive (later referred to as Awaz Khazana) to preserve recordings of music and broadcasts.^[4]

He oversaw the production of cultural programming that was translated into multiple languages and distributed abroad, including during national celebrations, when recordings were sent to radio stations in other countries.^[4]

According to ThePrint, Gillani retired as director of the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation.^[5]

Gillani was married to Alice Serrill Headley^[6] with four children. He died of a heart attack on 25 December 2008 in Lahore. His funeral prayers were held at Jamia Ashrafia, and he was buried in Ichhra cemetery, Lahore. He was awarded the Hilal-i-Imtiaz in recognition of his contributions to broadcasting and culture.^[1]