21 20th century Pakistani poets

Kazi Mohammed Zainul Abedin was an Urdu poet and an officer in the Government of the Nizam of Hyderabad. He was also the last Kazi of Udgir under the Hyderabad State.

Shehzad Ahmed, was a Pakistani Urdu poet, writer and director of Majlis-i-Taraqqi-i-Adab, an old book library of Pakistan. Shehzad's poetry collection comprise about thirty books and with several other publications on psychology. In 1990s, he earned a national recognition and was awarded Pride of Performance award by the Government of Pakistan. He is also credited for translating non-Urdu poems into Urdu language.

Obaidullah Aleem was a Pakistani poet of Urdu language.

Ahmad Shah, known by his pen name as Farigh Bukhari, was a Pakistani multilingual poet and progressive writer. He wrote books, including poetry on various subjects such as literature, social issues and politics in Hindko, Pashto and predominantly in Urdu language. Some of his publications appears about universal values and humanism.

Professor Dawar Khan Daud was a Pakistani folklorist, writer, poet, researcher, lecturer, member of Pashto Adabi Board (PAB) and president of Rahman Baba Adabi Jirga (RAJ), a literary organisation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In 2004, the president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf awarded him Pride of Performance award in the field of art and literature.

Syed Pir Gohar Ali Shah, also known as Shaer-i-Aman, was a Pakistani poet, songwriter, critic and freedom activist who primarily wrote poems in Pashto language throughout his life. He is also credited for contributing to the independence movement of Pakistan. He sometimes used to wrote articles and essays under the multiple pen names such as Shilmani and Silani.

Shahida Hassan is a contemporary Urdu poet. Based in Pakistan, she is known for her poems and ghazals. Hassan has written a lot of Urdu poetry, which has been published in two authorized collections, Yahan Kuch Phool Rakhey hain and Ek Taara hai sarhaaney mere. She received her Master's in English from the University of Karachi.

Imdad Hussaini was a Sindhi poet and an Urdu language writer of Pakistan.

Ada Jafarey, often spelled Ada Jafri, was a Pakistani poet who is regarded as the first major female Urdu poet to be published and has been called "The First Lady of Urdu Poetry". She was also an author and was considered a prominent figure in contemporary Urdu literature. She received awards from the Government of Pakistan, the Pakistan Writers' Guild, and literary societies of North America and Europe in recognition of her efforts.

Shareef Kunjahi (1914–2007) was a leading writer and poet of Punjabi. He was among the first faculty members of the Department of Punjabi Language at University of Punjab in the 1970s and contributed to Punjabi literature as a poet, prose writer, teacher, research scholar, linguist, lexicographer and translator.

Arzoo Lakhnavi, also known by the honorary title Allamah Arzoo Lakhnavi, was an Urdu poet and lyricist. He wrote almost in every genre of Urdu poetry such as marsiya, qasida, mathnawi, rubaʿi, naʽat, chronogram inscriptions and particularly gazals and lyrics throughout his life, and by the latter wrote radio plays and scripts for several uncertain Urdu films.

Sahir Lakhnavi was a Pakistani classical Urdu poet and the 20th century's last marsiya writer of Pakistan. He wrote gazals, nazms, qataat-i-tareekh, particularly marsiya and qasida throughout his literary career. He wrote twenty books on multiple subjects, including linguistics, poetry, prosody, seerat, history, theology and tafseer. He also appears to have written to the Persian literature, but his primary contribution appears in Urdu.

Maulana Bashir Ahmed Sialvi (1948–2014) was a prominent Sunni scholar and Imam from Pakistan who lead many Ahle Sunnat organisations of Pakistan and served Islam throughout his life. He was born in Chak 164 Shekhan, Gojra, Pakistan. His father Molvi Haji Ilam Dean Sialvi was one of the first settlers to this area after migration from India. He was a prominent member of the Sufi-Sunni Ulemas and Mushaikhs in Pakistan and United States.

Golam Mostofa was a Bengali writer and poet.

Ata ul Haq Qasmi is a Pakistani Urdu-language newspaper columnist, playwright and poet. He has written around twenty books and many articles on different subjects for the leading newspapers of Pakistan.

Taufiq Rafat, was a Pakistani author and poet. His work influenced other Pakistani poets and he is credited with the introduction of the concept of a "Pakistani idiom" in English literature.

Fahmida Riaz was a Progressive Urdu writer, poet, human rights activist and feminist of Pakistan. She authored many books, of which some are Godaavari, Khatt-e Marmuz, and Khana e Aab O Gil the first translation in rhyme of the Masnavi of Jalaluddin Rumi from Persian into Urdu. The author of more than 15 books of fiction and poetry, she remained at the center of controversies. When Badan Dareeda, her second collection of verse, appeared, she was accused of using erotic and sensual expressions. The themes prevalent in her verse were, until then, considered taboo for women writers. She also translated the works of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai and Shaikh Ayaz from Sindhi to Urdu. Fleeing General Zia-ul Haq's religious tyranny, Riaz sought refuge in India and spent seven years there.

Lala Sehrai, (2000-1920) was an Urdu poet and writer from Pakistan.

Rasheed Turabi (1908–1973) was an Islamic scholar, religious leader, public speaker, poet and philosopher. He was born on 9th Jamadi-us-Sani 1326, 9 July 1908 in Hyderabad, India. He was the eldest son of Maulvi Sharaf Hussain Khan, a nobleman from Hyderabad. He got his basic Islamic education from his father who taught him till the age of 5. He did matriculation from Hyderabad, Intermediate-high school from Shia College, Lucknow. He was awarded a BA from Osmania University and MA in Philosophy from University of Allahabad, India.

Wasif Ali Wasif was a teacher, writer, poet and sufi intellectual from Pakistan. He was the son of Muhammad Arif. Wasif Ali Wasif received his early education from Khushab before going to Jhang where he passed matriculation, intermediate and bachelors in the first division.

Syed Ali Ausat Zaidi was a renowned Urdu Soazkhawan. He was born in Meerut in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in 1932 and died in Karachi, Pakistan in 2008. He hold the prestigious and eminent position of Soazkhawan for presenting soaz, salam and marsiya on Pakistan Television, Radio Pakistan, ARY Television Network, GEO TV, Indus TV and TV2Day for several years.