Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
: هارون باچا ) (born July 27, 1972) is a
Pashtun
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
musician who sings mostly in
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
, Pakistan.
He received his early education at Govt. High School Panjpir and followed with his matriculation from Govt. High School No.1 Peshawar. Bacha completed his F.Sc. and B.A. from
Edwardes College
Edwardes College Peshawar is a semi-government degree
The college's undergraduate and graduate degree programs lead to the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), 4 year BS Programme in English and Computer Science, Master of Bus ...
in 1992, and took his master's degree in Social Work from the Department of Social Work,
University of Peshawar
The University of Peshawar ( ps, د پېښور پوهنتون; hnd, پشور یونیورسٹی; ur, ; abbreviated UoP; known more popularly as Peshawar University) is a Public university, public research university located in Peshawar, Khy ...
.
Bacha had a natural flair for singing, taking part in Naat Qirat and singing competitions throughout his early school days. Govt. High School No.1 provided further chances for young Haroon Bacha to exhibit his hidden talent, but it was the music club of
Edwardes College
Edwardes College Peshawar is a semi-government degree
The college's undergraduate and graduate degree programs lead to the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), 4 year BS Programme in English and Computer Science, Master of Bus ...
that garnered him a real place in the world of
Pashto music
Pashto music ( ps, ) or ''Də ṭang-ṭakór'' is commonly performed in Afghanistan and Pakistan among Pashtun people.
Genres Tappa
Tappa ( ps, ټپه) is the oldest and most popular genre of the Pashto poetry. The Tappa is a composition of ...
.
Career
Bacha's professional music career started in 1992 with a live television performance in
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
, Pakistan. His first album, "Da Rangoono Makhaam", was released in 1996, with "Ghunchakoona" being released shortly after. Since then, he has released more than 48 other albums along with one single, "Speena Kaotara", which was released in the United States in 2011. Some of his albums include: "Heele", "Ulas Janaan Kra" and "Darman".
Bacha's career came to a standstill in 2007 when he began receiving threatening text messages and phone calls from the
Pakistani Taliban
The Pakistani Taliban (), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (Urdu/ ps, , lit=Student Movement of Pakistan, TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani bor ...
. The
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
asked him to quit music and threatened to kill him and his family. These death threats lasted approximately one year until on August 14, 2008, Bacha fled his home and went to
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York, where he was granted
political asylum
The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another enti ...
.
In 2009, Bacha became
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...
's Mashaal Radio branch's first employee as a broadcaster.
In July 2012, he was transferred by
RFE/RL
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...
from Washington D.C. to
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...