Mashkoor Hussain Yaad was born in 1925, in Dabwali, Hisar of East Punjab (now part of Haryana).

At a young age, his family moved to Muzaffarnagar District in Uttar Pradesh, where his father became a police officer.

Two weeks after Partition in 1947, his house was attacked and 35 of his family members were killed, including his wife and his three-year-old daughter.

His literary career was re-launched after he became Professor of Urdu at Government College, Lahore and published Azadi Ki Chiragh.

Urdu Development Board, Karachi from 1977 to 1982 In addition to all these academic positions, Mashkoor also remained busy in authoring his books and in writing for different literary magazines, newspapers and radio Pakistan.

Qasmi and Yaad even lived in the same neighborhood in Lahore, Samanabad's Zafar Colony, along with the poet and lyricist Qateel Shifai, also a close friend.

[citation needed] Along with Qasmi and others, Yaad is featured in a recently published compilation of interviews with Pakistan's major literary figures.