Fazal Malik Akif

On 26 August 2016, Coke Studio uploaded a contemporary rendition of Akif's song "Dilruba Na Raazi" on their YouTube channel. Performed and further composed by Zeb Bangash, Faakhir Mehmood and Strings, the song is a huge hit and has garnered millions of views.

Akif had a love marriage to one of his fans, Sirat Malik (died 2004) from Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Sirat, who did not speak nor understand Pashto, wrote to Akif after seeing him perform on television. While touring the Punjab region of Pakistan, Akif visited Sirat's workplace to surprise her. They fell in love, married and have two children, a son Mohammad Ali Khan and a daughter Namsi Nāmūs Khan.

In 2003, Akif finally returned to Pakistan after a thirteen-year hiatus and was embraced by the music fraternity. Peshawar Television Centre produced a one-off comeback programme titled Yaad Girina where Akif spoke on his musical career and performed a series of his hit songs. The show was attended by an audience of old musical associates and friends, which included producers, directors, composers, performers and lyricists such as Mohammad Azam Azam. The programme ended with a 56-year-old Akif performing his famous song "Zam Da Husn Jazeero Ta" in a split screen format displaying him singing the same song years earlier at Nishtar Hall, Peshawar.

In April 1994, Akif was invited as the honorary guest to the launch of Safeer magazine. The event took place at Sanam restaurant in Manchester and was hosted by the magazine's chief editor, Mohammad Azhar. A review of Akif's future Eid show performance went on to feature in the magazine.

On 22 October 1994, his 47th birthday, Akif headlined at the Gracie Fields Theatre in Rochdale, Lancashire as part of the North West Asian Talents Promotion event. This is believed to be one of Akif's final live performances.

Akif headlined along with Hangama and Farishta on 26 April 1992 for the Afghan Festival. He also regularly performed at charity concerts, including an event at Ganesh Hall, London in support of the Guyana Care centre.

Akif was a regular contributor to Aatish newspaper and Aina magazine between 1992 and 1995. His most notable submissions were his many shairs and nazams which included "Inqilaab aur Jihad", "Aaj ka Musalmaan" and "Aay mairay watan".

During a trip to Peshawar in 1990, Anne Hunt of World Circuit Records, came across Akif at a show at Nishtar Hall, Peshawar. Anne Hunt and Mary Farquharson, of what was then Arts Worldwide, were in search of musicians who were popular locally but little known to the wider western public. Hunt was seeking artists that encompassed musical excellence in their respective genres, and saw in Akif a global star relevant for the western music market. Hunt organised for Akif and his band, Walidad on tabla, Aman Shah on dholak, Musafir on harmonium and Amir Hamza on rubab, to travel to the United Kingdom as part of the "Jashan-e-Bahar" festival from the 7–21 March 1991, alongside other artists including Abida Parveen, Aziz Mian, Zarsanga, Allan Fakir and Farida Khanum. On arrival in the United Kingdom in March 1991, Akif performed with his band in various cities including venues in Hackney and Greenwich in London, Manchester and Birmingham. He was interviewed on BBC radio and TV Asia, and went on to perform on Channel 4 for the series Mahfil.

He put all his efforts into producing his next album, Baraan Wai Baraan (translated Rain Oh Rain), which was released in 1990 and became a commercial success.

On another occasion in 1988, at a patriotic concert organised for Pakistan government's chief guests and ministers at Liaquat Memorial Hall, Rawalpindi, Akif refused to sing in a group behind lead singer, Shaukat Ali. He ignored the producer's instructions and left the venue from the back exit during the performance, resulting in a three-month ban from the music scene. However, this became a turning point in Akif's career as his comeback track "Zam Da Husn Jazeero Ta" went on to become one of his most successful releases.

The Ministry of Culture of North-West Frontier Province recommended Akif for the "Pride of Performance" award for three consecutive years from 1988 to 1991.

Due to high demand from Akif's fans for an official album, in 1988 he released Zama Meena or My Love through Odeon Records in cassette format. The album was well received and embraced for its upbeat pop flavour and use of western instruments. Akif had little involvement with the production of the album and was unhappy with the sound quality and balancing of his voice upon its release.

In 1987, Akif competed at "Lok Mela" in Islamabad, coming second to Pakistani gypsy folk singer Zarsanga. In the weeks ensuing Akif initiated legal action against "Lok Mela" for vote rigging. In response, Adam Nayyar, Executive Director of "Lok Virsa" replied acknowledging that Akif was indeed the best performer in terms of stage performance, public popularity and singing. Nayyar went on to invite Akif to sit on the UNESCO Advisory Board as a cultural ambassador, a position Akif declined out of principle.

Akif was first nominated for the Pakistan Television Awards in 1986 in the category of "Outstanding Performance". He went on to win the 1987–1988 Khyber Award for "Best Singer" at a ceremony in Nishtar Hall, Peshawar. He was also nominated in three separate years for Pakistan Television's National Music Awards in the category of "Best Singer", once losing out to Abida Parveen.

In 1985, Akif and Ghulam Ali, who affectionately referred to Akif as "vakeel sahib" or "Mr. Lawyer", were asked to sing a set of private performances at the Marriott Hotel, Islamabad. Akif also performed alongside Mehdi Hassan and Farida Khanum at the annual Doctor's Association event in Peshawar, which was attended by the Pakistani film actor Mohammad Ali. He has also performed on shows along with Alamgir, Munni Begum, Akhlaq Ahmed, Tina Sani and Mahjabeen Qizilbash.

In 1982, music director and close friend, Sohail Rana of Shalimar Recording Company invited Akif to Karachi to produce an album in Urdu. On arrival, one of Akif's most notable performances was at the Ali Bhai Auditorium where Kamal Irani the presenter of the show lost control of the frenzied crowd and had to have the lights switched off so Akif could escape the building unscathed.

In the late 1980s, Akif twice toured the Middle East including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Qatar, alongside actresses and dancers Parveen Babi, Sonia and Rukhsana, as well as actors Badar Munir and Asif Khan, to showcase his music to a wider audience. At one particular performance in Dubai, his female back-up dancers gave such an impassioned performance that the wooden stage floor had to be mopped to clear the blood from their bare feet.

Akif was known industry-wide for his angry disposition and principled nature. During a live television show in 1978 at "Lok Tamasha" in Shakarparian, Islamabad, Akif stopped mid-performance. Due to faulty technical equipment Akif was seen gesturing to Azhar Lodhi, the presenter and Tufail Niazi, the director that he was unable to hear the music properly. When they signalled for him to continue, Akif lost his temper, and in an act of rage kicked a prop stool into the air, threw his microphone to the ground and walked off stage.

In 1974, a 27-year-old Akif was invited by Chaklala Television to sing alongside Naheed Akhtar, Tahira Syed and Roshan Ara Begum, three senior figures of the music industry, for the show "Mehfil". However, Akif was vehemently against performing duets and perceived such requests to be insults to his artistic individuality. He rejected producers' requests for him to sing with Tahira Syed, and instead sang a solo of Qateel Shifai's song, "Gungunati Si Koi Raat Bhi Aajati Hai". The producers reformatted the track as if Akif was serenading Tahira Syed. Known for his fiery temperament, Akif argued with the producers for not complying with his wishes and for falsely representing his version of the song.

By the end of 1969, television producers had caught on to Akif's growing fan base and he was invited to perform on television.

Akif performed on television for the first time on the talent show "Naye Funkaar" in Rawalpindi, Pakistan in September 1969. The show invited contestants from East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, and Pakistan to showcase their musical, singing, dancing and drama abilities in front of a panel of judges. Akif, still determined to pursue his passion for acting, had prepared a drama sketch as his audition piece. However, due to encouragement from Agha Nasir, the General manager of the television channel, Akif was put forward to also sing.

Soon Akif was being introduced to music producers across Peshawar and was offered opportunities to sing on live radio. His first live Pashto performance was on Peshawar Radio Station in 1965, which led to him receiving offers from producers from across the province. As Hindko was his first language, Akif taught himself to read Pashto and often, due to time constraints, learnt songs verbatim by listening to them repeatedly.

Akif made his official singing debut in 1964 on Peshawar Radio Station on a programme titled, "University Magazine". By now, Akif had gained popularity for his confident delivery of several stage performances in college and was selected alongside other talented students for the radio show. He travelled from Kohat to Peshawar to attend the two-day competition.

From 1964 to 1969 Akif performed regularly on Peshawar Radio Station and gained increasing popularity for re-inventing Ashraf Maftoon's songs with his own compositions. He gained much acclaim for his rendition of the sentimental ballad, "Zargay Mey Laywanai De", in which Akif slurred, hiccupped and sang like a drunkard, sniggering at the hopelessness of his lovelorn fate.

Fazal Malik Akif (Urdu: فضل مالك عاکف) (born 22 October 1947) is a Pakistani singer and songwriter, who gained popularity in the 1970s for introducing a modern and eclectic twist to traditional Pashto folk compositions. He is widely regarded as the first "pathan pop star" for collaborating indigenous instruments such as the rubab, harmonium and tabla with contemporary synthesizers, accordion, drums and electric guitar. He typically sang in his native language of Pashto, but his repertoire extends to Urdu, Punjabi, Hindko, Sindhi, Balochi, Saraiki and Farsi.

Akif was born in Kohat, Pakistan in 1947. Born Fazal-e-Malik, he added the pen name "Akif" in 1971 when he came across the word in Islamic literature. Akif derives from the word "I'tikaf", loosely translated as "someone who cannot be moved".

Akif is the third of seven siblings and describes himself as a "misfit" growing up. But he always maintained a close relationship with his father, a highly academic man and descendant of the Kamboh (Zubairi) tribe. Akif's father studied Law at the renowned Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh, India and represented elite clientele across India and Pakistan. During his youth, Akif's father was an avid political activist, arrested and jailed on several occasions for picketing against alcohol distribution in the country. Akif's father was also a senior member of Muhammad Ali Jinnah's Muslim League party and is documented in the publication, "Quaid-e-Azam aur Sarhad" or "Quaid-e-Azam and his land" for playing an integral role in the independence of Pakistan in 1947.