JOIN USHamid was suffering from complications like chronic asthma, pneumonia and lung damage.
Born in 1928 at Amritsar, Hamid received secondary education in the same city and migrated to Pakistan after partition in 1947.He joined Radio Pakistan as an assistant script editor and then moved to the Voice of America after some years.
His first collection of short stories, "Manzil Manzil", won acclaim and introduced him as a romantic short story writer. He penned 200 or so books.
Besides short stories and novels, Hamid wrote columns for national newspapers.
He wrote a number of scripts for programmes on radio and TV that won wide acknowledgment.
One of his best-known books is "Urdu Nasr Ki Dastan" in which he wrote about the prose of Banda Nawaz Gesu Draz, Mirza Ghalib, Dastango, Ashfaq Ahmad and Mirza Ghalib.
Hamid wrote extensively for children.
His play for PTV, "Ainak Wala Jin", was extremely popular in the 1990s.
His fantasy series of 100 novels for children, known as "Ambar Naag Maria", won him more fame.
Hamid’s early short stories were a great contribution to Urdu literature.
He started his short-story career in 1947.Romanticism was an integral part of his writings and he never dissociated himself from the golden memories of Amritsar.
Hamid once said he was highly inspired by Krishan Chandar.
Writer Atta-ul-Haq Qasmi said Hamid was among those writers who inspired him to become a writer.He said when the Lahore Arts Council held a cultural evening at Alhamra hall some seven months ago, Hamid was overjoyed to see his friends around.
He said Hamid had beautifully described the characters of middle-class Kashmiri families of Amritsar in his writings.
His travelogues, such as "Barma Ka Safar", had a strong element of romanticism about them, Qasmi said.Hamid is survived by his widow and a son and a daughter.