Niaz Ahmed (3 December 1946 – 29 March 2019) was a Pakistani television, radio, and film musician. He is known for composing classical, semi-classical, and patriotic songs for Radio Pakistan and Pakistan Television. His popular melodies include "''Itne Baray Jeevan Saagar Mein Tu Ne Pakistan Dia''" (singer: Allan Faqir), "''Dekh Tera Kiya Rang Kar dia Hai''" (singer: Alamgir), "''Mera Inaam Pakistan''" (singer: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan), and many others. He was honored with the Pride of Performance Award in 2004.

Early life and career

Niaz was born on December 3, 1946, in Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, British India. His family migrated to Karachi, Pakistan after the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

. Orphaned at an early age, he was raised by his uncle ''Riaz Ahmed''. After completing his secondary school education, Niaz showed his interest in music. His maternal side belonged to the famous musical Kirana family. He got early music lessons from ''Maulana Abdul Shakoor''. Mastering the instruments like harmonium and accordion, he started his music career at Pakistan Television, Karachi. He, for some time, assisted the musicians like Nisar Bazmi, Aashiq Ali Khan, and

Deebo Bhattacharya Deebo Bhattacharya, also known as Debu Bhattacherjee, was a Pakistani- Bangladeshi musician, painter and singer who worked in Lollywood movies during the era of 1960s and 1970s. He was one of the well known composers in Bangladesh as well. He ...

. For five years, he served in Radio Pakistan as an instrumentalist. Niaz's debut composition as a musician was "Ye Kaisa Bandhan Hai Saajan", vocalized by Mehnaz Begum and aired on Radio Pakistan. Then, he used other voices for his melodies like, Taj Multani, Ishrat Jahan, and Nighat Seema. The real breakthrough came when Niaz joined Pakistan Television as a music director in the 1970s. At PTV, he created a lots of memorable classical, ghazals, and pop songs, working singers such as

Mehdi Hassan Mehdi Hassan Khan ( ur, مہدی حسن خاں , translit=) 18 July 1927 – 13 June 2012) was a Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer for Lollywood. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential figures in the history of gh ...

, Noor Jehan, Naheed Akhtar, Mehnaz, Nayyara Noor, Abida Parveen, Alamgir, Muhammad Ali Shehki, Allan Faqir, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Some of his notable melodies for PTV include, "''Itne Baray Jeevan Saagar Mein Tu Ne Pakistan Dia''" (sung by Allan Faqir), "''Hum Mayein Hum Behnein Hum Beetiyan''" (sung by Nahid Akhtar), "''Har Ghari Tayar Kamran Hein Hum''" (sung by Khalid Waheed), "''Khusboo Ban Ke Mehak Raha Hai Mera Pakistan''" (sung by Lubna Nadeem), "''Tum Se Bhichar Ke Zinda Hein''" (sung by Muhammad Ali Shehki), "''Dekh Tera Kiya Rang Kar dia Hai''" (sung by Alamgir), and "''Mera Inaam Pakistan''" (sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan). He also gave background music for PTV ''Khabarnaama'', Neelam Ghar, the drama serial ''Ajab Kahani''. Niaz also composed music for five Urdu, three

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

, and three Pashto films. Though, he couldn't establish himself in cinema's playback music.

Personal life

Niaz had two marriages, four daughters, and four sons. His son ''Waseem Niaz'' is also in the music industry.

Popular compositions

TV

* ''Itne Baray Jeevan Saagar Mein'' ... Singer: Allan Faqir, Poet: Jamiluddin Aali * ''Hum Mayein Hum Behnein Hum Beetiyan'' ... Singer: Nahid Akhtar, Poet: Jamiluddin Aali * ''Har Ghari Tayar Kamran Hein Hum'' ... Singer: Khalid Waheed, Poet: Zafar Ullah Poshni * ''Khusboo Ban Ke Mehak Raha Hai Mera Pakistan''... Singer: Lubna Nadeem, Poet: Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi * ''Tum Se Bhichar Ke Zinda Hein'' ... Singer: Muhammad Ali Shehki, Poet: Iftikhar Arif * ''Dekh Tera Kiya Rang Kar dia Hai'' ... Singer: Alamgir, Poet: * ''Ye Shaam Aur Tera Naam'' ... Singer: Alamgir, Poet: Muhammad Nasir * ''Meri Ankhon Se Es Duniya Ko Dekho'' Singer: Muhammad Ali Shehki, Poet: * ''Nainan Tum Chup Rehna'' ... Singer: Noor Jehan, Poet: * ''Nazaray Humein Dekhein Hum Nazaron Ko'' ... Singer: Muhammad Ali Shehki, Poet: Muhammad Nasir * ''Kabhi Tum Idhar Se Guzar Ke To Dekho'' ... Singer: Alamgir, Poet: Hassan Akbar Kamal * ''Mere Pyaar Ke Tu Sung Sung Hai'' ... Singer: Muhammad Ali Shehki, Poet: * ''Babula Way Lay Jaayen Na Log Mujh Ko'' ... Singer:

Afshan Ahmed Afshan Ahmed (born 22 September 1966) is a Pakistani singer who is known for her television and radio songs like "''Dosti Aisa Naata''" and "''Meray Bachpan Ke Din''", and others. Early life Afshan's family migrated to Pakistan from India i ...

, Poet:

Radio

* ''Kajra Ri Akhion Main Nindiya Na Aaye'' ... Singer: Mehnaz Begum, poet: * ''Kya Toota Hai Ander'' ... Singer:

, Poet: Farhat Shehzad

Film

* ''Mukh Mor Chala Dil Tor Chala Bedardi Mora Baalma'' ... Singer: Runa Laila, Film: ''Shama Parvana'' (1970), Poet: M. Sultan

Awards

Niaz Ahmed received 27 awards during his career, including: * The Pride of Performance Award in 2004 * 3

PTV Awards PTV National Awards () was an awards ceremony annually held by the Pakistan Television Corporation. The awards were first introduced in the late 1970s to encourage talented people in Pakistan. History The PTV awards is the largest awards cerem ...

in the 'Best Musician' category

Death

After a prolonged illness, Niaz died on May 29, 2019, at the age of 72, in Lahore.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Niaz 1946 births 2019 deaths Muhajir people Pakistani composers Pakistani film score composers People from Muzaffarnagar district Kirana gharana Recipients of the Pride of Performance