Back-to-back Cambridge nomination
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Nazia Kashif, from Bahria College Karsaz, Karachi, has been shortlisted among the top 10 teachers in Pakistan for the Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Awards (CDTA) 2025, marking her second consecutive nomination for this prestigious award.
The CDTA is a global competition that recognises exceptional primary and secondary teachers for their remarkable contributions.
This year, 90 outstanding teachers from across the globe have been selected, including 10 inspiring educators from Pakistan, marking a proud moment for the country's education sector.
Nazia is a mentor and guiding force in her students' academic and personal growth. Her passion for literature extends beyond textbooks, encouraging students to bring stories to life through stage performances.
She also guided students in painting a mural on the college's main entrance wall. The artwork, featuring symbols of unity and inspiring quotes, aimed to spread kindness and inclusivity.
The winner of the CDTA will be announced on April 23.
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Express Tribune
10-04-2025
- Express Tribune
Back-to-back Cambridge nomination
Listen to article Nazia Kashif, from Bahria College Karsaz, Karachi, has been shortlisted among the top 10 teachers in Pakistan for the Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Awards (CDTA) 2025, marking her second consecutive nomination for this prestigious award. The CDTA is a global competition that recognises exceptional primary and secondary teachers for their remarkable contributions. This year, 90 outstanding teachers from across the globe have been selected, including 10 inspiring educators from Pakistan, marking a proud moment for the country's education sector. Nazia is a mentor and guiding force in her students' academic and personal growth. Her passion for literature extends beyond textbooks, encouraging students to bring stories to life through stage performances. She also guided students in painting a mural on the college's main entrance wall. The artwork, featuring symbols of unity and inspiring quotes, aimed to spread kindness and inclusivity. The winner of the CDTA will be announced on April 23.
Express Tribune
18-02-2025
- Express Tribune
Pakistani music has survived dictators, bans, and Bollywood — here's how
From Nazia Hassan to Young Stunners, Pakistan's music has evolved, adapted, and thrived against all odds. If there's one thing Pakistan has consistently done right, it's music. Despite political turmoil, censorship crackdowns, and an overall identity crisis every other decade, Pakistani artists have created magic—songs that define generations, voices that refuse to be silenced, and beats that make even the most reluctant uncles tap their feet. But how did we get here? How did Pakistan go from the classical era of ghazals and qawwalis to pop anthems, rock revolutions, and global Spotify sensations? Buckle up, because we're taking a deep dive into the Pakistani music scene—from the 1980s to today, where indie artists are breaking records, Coke Studio has basically become a religion, and folk traditions continue to thrive alongside modern beats. Let's start with the queen herself: Nazia Hassan. Before her, Pakistani music was mostly film songs, ghazals, and qawwalis. Beautiful, yes, but also a bit too serious. Then in 1981, Nazia and her brother Zoheb Hassan dropped Disco Deewane, and suddenly, Pakistan had its own pop revolution. This wasn't just a hit—it was the hit. The album topped charts in 14 countries, including India, making Nazia the first Pakistani pop superstar. Her voice, combined with British-Indian producer Biddu's disco beats, was the fresh sound Pakistan didn't even know it needed. But here's the catch: this was General Zia-ul-Haq's era, a time when anything remotely fun was frowned upon. Censorship was at an all-time high, and anything 'Western' was seen as corrupting young minds. Yet, despite this, Nazia's music flourished, and she became a household name. The '90s were wild, and Pakistani music went from an underground movement to absolute mainstream domination. Thanks to the rise of PTV's music programs and cassette culture, pop and rock bands became massive. You simply cannot talk about Pakistani music without Vital Signs. Their song Dil Dil Pakistan (1987) became a national anthem in its own right. Imagine a country obsessed with patriotic marches suddenly getting a soft rock song about love for Pakistan—it was a game-changer. The band's frontman, Junaid Jamshed, became a cultural icon, and their music blended Western influences with local sensibilities. For the first time, Pakistani youth had their own voice, their own music, their own aesthetic. While Vital Signs kept pop music alive, Junoon took a different route: Sufi Rock. Led by Salman Ahmad, Junoon blended electric guitars with poetry, and songs like Sayonee and Jazba Junoon became anthems of resistance. At the same time, Strings emerged as another powerhouse, producing Sar Kiye Yeh Pahar—a song so poetic and nostalgic it could make even Karachi's traffic feel romantic. The '90s were also the MTV generation, and Pakistani music was booming. Bands like Awaz (Haroon's old band), Ali Haider, and Fakhr-e-Alam all contributed to this golden age. Just when you thought Pakistani music couldn't get better, the 2000s happened. Noori came in with Suno Ke Main Hoon Jawan, making pop-punk anthems a thing. Entity Paradigm (EP), featuring a young Fawad Khan, introduced nu-metal to Pakistan. Aaroh, Mizmaar, and Fuzon blended Western rock with classical influences, creating a sound that was uniquely Pakistani. This was also the post-9/11 era, and Pakistan was once again dealing with political instability, media restrictions, and the war on terror. Music became a form of rebellion, with artists addressing social issues, youth frustration, and the need for identity. But despite their success, many bands started to break up. Junaid Jamshed left music for religion. EP disbanded. Even Junoon faded. It felt like Pakistani music was about to enter a dark age. And then, Coke Studio happened. Launched in 2008 by Rohail Hyatt (yes, the same guy from Vital Signs), Coke Studio became THE biggest music platform in Pakistan. It took folk music, classical influences, modern beats, and put them in one big experimental pot. This era gave us legends like Abida Parveen, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, and Ali Sethi, while also reviving folk music through artists like Mai Dhai and Saieen Zahoor. At the same time, the indie scene exploded. Hasan Raheem introduced lo-fi pop and became an instant hit. Young Stunners made Urdu rap mainstream. Shae Gill dropped Pasoori, which became a global phenomenon, proving that Pakistani music doesn't need Bollywood to make it big. With platforms like Spotify, YouTube, and SoundCloud, artists no longer needed record labels. They could release music independently, and the world was listening. But let's not forget Pakistan's deep-rooted cultural music traditions, which have shaped its sound for centuries. One of Pakistan's greatest musical gifts to the world is qawwali—a Sufi devotional music form that has survived for centuries. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan took it to an international stage, blending traditional poetry with a spiritual intensity that still leaves people mesmerized. Today, artists like Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen, and Fareed Ayaz & Abu Muhammad continue this legacy, proving that qawwali will never go out of style. Pakistan's regional folk music is just as important. Sindhi folk music, with its deep-rooted poetry and Alghoza melodies, is best represented by Allan Fakir and Mai Dhai. Balochi folk music, featuring instruments like the Soroz and Dambura, tells the stories of the desert. Pashto music, driven by the Rubab, has given us legends like Sardar Ali Takkar and modern stars like Gul Panra. Punjabi folk, full of dhol beats and bhangra energy, remains popular worldwide, thanks to artists like Attaullah Khan Esakhelvi and Arif Lohar. But the music industry hasn't been free from political take a quick looks at this: Zia's era (1980s): Banned concerts, censored lyrics, and discouraged anything 'Western.' Musharraf's era (2000s): A boom in private channels helped musicians, but political instability still created uncertainty. Post-2010s: Music festivals were shut down, concerts were banned, and yet, musicians found ways to keep going. Artists like Ali Gul Pir have used satire in rap to criticize society. Rock bands like Laal have openly sung about political injustice. The resistance is still alive. From Nazia Hassan's disco beats to Young Stunners' rap bars, Pakistani music has evolved, adapted, and thrived despite all odds. So the next time someone tells you "Pakistani music isn't what it used to be," just send them a playlist. From Sufi to rock, pop to rap, and deep-rooted folk traditions, we've got something for everyone. The legacy continues, and it's louder than ever.
Express Tribune
28-01-2025
- Express Tribune
Fans unmoved as Alisha Chinai takes on Nazia Hassan
How do you tell when a musician is a timeless legend? Answer: when their work gets trotted out time and again by the artists of the present day, long after the legend themself has passed. And so is the case with Pakistan's original disco queen, Nazia Hassan, whose hits continue to see the light of day to date, nearly a quarter of a century after her death. In a beautiful example of cross-border appreciation, a video doing the rounds on social media sees Indian singer Alisha Chinai paying tribute to Nazia with a rendition of the latter's iconic number, Aap Jaisa Koi at a concert in London. As the video shows, Alisha holds her own and sings in tune, but ruthless netizens have decreed that none could supplant the queen of pop herself. Unconsciously (or perhaps consciously) echoing the sentiments splashed across the face of one particularly befuddled-looking member of the crowd, one fan wrote, "No voice in the world can match Nazia's voice. She was the one and only nightingale of Pakistan." Another commenter was far more brutal and succinct, offering the following swift verdict: "Ruined by Alisha." Kinder fans, however, opted to focus more on the everlasting appeal of Nazia's catalogue, rather than on the cover itself. "Her songs are old but still sound fresh to this day," gushed a follower. In the same vein, yet another music lover declared, "No one can beat Nazia Hassan." As is befitting of an iconic singer, this is not the first time music fans have been treated to (or have been forced to endure) a cover version of one of Nazia's hits. Last year, Nazia's memorable Boom Boom was given a fresh makeover by Indian vocalist Sunidhi Chauhan, who gave the '80s disco hit her own twist in a new Indian car commercial. Unlike Alisha's stage performance, however, Sunidhi's version stuck a chord with music fans. For the unversed, eighteen seconds into the commercial (which clocks at just over one minute) Sunidhi's vocals kick in as she steps into the driver's seat of the car. Whilst the tune and lyrics remain the same, Sunidhi's take has more power injected into the vocals, a marked departure from Nazia's more classic, softer, sweeter singing style. Netizens, however, had no complaints and clamoured for Sunidhi to release a complete version of Nazia's hit. "Sunidhi's voice!" wrote one fan, adding a fire emoji. Another added alongside a heart emoji, "Amazing choice of a hot pop song." Proving that when it comes to music, geopolitical tensions are left by the wayside, another fan penned, "Where to get this song in her voice?" Wanting more, yet another follower wrote, "They need to release this version of the song." Nazia's Boom Boom has often been attempted by other artists, although whether they all receive the same warm response as Sunidhi is a separate matter. It is a fact that actor and singer Mehwish Hayat discovered to her cost last May when she attempted her own rendition of the track at a disco party in Dubai, with fans reacting far more brutally than they did to Alisha's more recent rendition of Aap Jaisa Koi. Clad in a long black dress, Mehwish serenaded her audience amid flashing lights, swaying in time to the music. As the short video of her impromptu performance popped up on various social media platforms, fans of the late singer all but unanimously rose in arms to slam Mehwish's version of the song. Wherever the clip was posted, the comments ranged from a scathing "She could have paid better tribute by NOT singing at all" to a merciless "Please don't sing again." One particularly ruthless viewer requested a "two-minute silence" after watching the video. Nazia's fans can take comfort in the knowledge that no cover version is likely to surpass any song debuted by the disco queen herself.
