ZIGGY MARLEY

Abrar-ul-Haq is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and politician. His debut 1995 album Billo De Ghar sold over 40.3 million albums worldwide, which made him a household name and granted him the title of “King of Pakistani pop”.

Abrar-ul-Haq is the founder and chairman of Sahara for Life Trust, a private organization that has been providing health services to the people of Narowal and surrounding areas since 1998. He was Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s candidate for the seat of National Assembly from constituency NA-78 (Narowal-II) in the 2018 Pakistani general election.

 On 15 November 2019, he was appointed Chairman of the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS). He also served as a teacher in Aitchison College for a brief period of time.

His first album as singer was Billo De Ghar, which was released in 1995. Abrar-ul-Haq’s songs have been a subject of controversy in Pakistan. After the release of the hit song “Billo De Ghar” in 1995, Urdu newspapers began quoting Islamic scholars of Lahore who were of the opinion that the song was describing a man falling in love with a prostitute and wanting to marry her. Upon the formation of Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N majority government after the 1997 election, the song was banned from state-owned TV and radio channels.

In the early 2000s, his song “Nach Punjaban” was met with opposition from those who thought the casual use of the word “Punjaban” was a demeaning way to address Punjabi women, eventually resulting in Abrar-ul-Haq re-recording a version of the song using the word “Majajan” instead.

In 2007, the Supreme Court of Pakistan summoned the singer for an explanation of the song “Parveen” from the album Nara Sada Ishq Aye, alleging that it used the name Parveen in a derogatory manner that would hurt the sentiments of society.

In 2019, his song “Chamkeeli” was the subject of a claim in a civil court in Lahore, with the courts requesting that the song be banned and removed from YouTube alleging that it was humiliating and insulting to both men and women.

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