Well-known writer, novelist, journalist and literary scholar Rahnaward Zaryab passed away at the age of 77 years old at a hospital in Kabul early Friday morning.

Rahnaward Zaryab was born in 1944 in the Rika Khana area in Kabul. 

He had a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Kabul University and had perused his education in Wales and New Zealand.

He spent over 50 years of his life on Persian and Afghanistan’s culture and wrote precious novels. 

Cultural activists and writers said Zaryab was one of the most hardworking writers in recent decades in the country.

Zaryab’s famous novels are Char Gerd-e-Qala Gashtom, Gulnar and Ayeena, Darwesh-e-Panjum and others. 

He had written the script for the famous comedy movie Akhtar-e-Maskhara in 1981 and many of his writings have been published in Russian.

His books and writings made him famous beyond Afghanistan’s borders in Iran, Tajikistan and India.

Zaryab's novel Char Gerd Qala Gashtum got the best author award in Iran in 2016.

He worked at Zhwandoon Magazine in Kabul as a crime reporter in the 1970s.

He continued to work as a print and TV journalist and editor throughout his career and worked as an editor for TOLOnews TV in Kabul for over 10 years. 

He also held government positions in the Ministry of Information and Culture of Afghanistan.

Zaryab lived in exile in France during the 1990s but returned to Kabul after the fall of the Taliban. 

He is survived by his wife Spozhmai Rauf and his three daughters.