Weeks after the release of his first novel "The Prisoner," his mentor and police partner Chaudhry Aslam - the inspiration for one of the book's protagonists - was killed in a Taliban-claimed suicide blast. Hamid did the bulk of his writing while he was on sabbatical after being advised to leave Karachi and take a break from policing in 2011 when he was threatened by jihadist groups. "It's that grittiness, that uncompromising reality that I think a lot of readers enjoy."Īt times the reality has hit dangerously and heartbreakingly close to home.
"Books like mine wouldn't work if I pulled punches," he tells AFP. Hamid said the secret to his success is his unflinching accounts of political corruption, contract killers, and crooked cops alongside nuanced portraits of Karachi's divided neighbourhoods.
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His work has even nabbed the attention of major streaming outlets on the hunt for new original material from South Asia, including Netflix, which has already seen major success with similar material in TV series such as Sacred Games, about Mumbai's corrupt underworld. Police officer Chaudry Aslam (L) escorts Saulat Mirza (C), a suspect in the murder of six US nationals and numerous killings. Now a deputy inspector general, he is also fast becoming one of Pakistan's most recognisable writers, publishing four books in quick succession since 2013. Personal tragedy haunts the hard-boiled novels that are turning top cop Omar Shahid Hamid into one of Pakistan's most popular English-language authors.įor nearly two decades Hamid has worn a badge in Karachi, the mega port city on the Arabian Sea that for years was rife with vicious political and extremist violence. AFP His father was assassinated by a notorious Karachi hitman, while his police partner was murdered by the Taliban.
Omar Shahid Hamid gestures as he speaks during the interview in Karachi.
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