There are a lot of Punjabi singers who have gained impressive popularity, but no one could come near to Abrar-ul-Haq who left his mark in the music industry. Abrar-ul-Haq is a Punjabi songwriter, singer, philanthropist, and politician.
With his debut album, he created his aura and became popular all over the nation. his popularity didn’t stop there, he changed the whole dynamic of the pop industry in Pakistan where Urdu singers were dominating at that time he kicked in and made his way through.
Throughout his musical and personal journey, Abrar-ul-Haq has done some of the greatest things that people love him for his effective works. Entering politics he inspired youngsters and grabbed a lot of people towards the party.
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 elections. There are a lot of things to know about this gem and we are going to dig deep down to know more about him.
Early Life
On the 17th of July 1969, Abrar-ul-Haq was born in Faisalabad, Pakistan. He didn’t leave his education for his passion, because he knew the value of academics. That’s the reason he finished his Bachelor’s Degree from Sir Syed College in Rawalpindi. He finished his Master’s certificate in Social Science from Quaid-I-Azam University in Islamabad.
Although he knew his great obsession with music that led him to pursue it as a career and undoubtedly now he’s with us. Without wasting any time he took the risk and started working on his first album. In 1995, he began his singing career with his debut album Billo de Ghar.
Musical Journey
His first album changed his life and especially the “Billo de Ghar” track that became every party’s anthem. But Abrar-ul-Haq was initially surrounded by a lot of controversies as the song was released many newspapers claimed that the song described a man falling in love with a prostitute and wanting to marry her.
Under the PML-N government after the 1997 election, the song was banned from state-owned TV and radio channels. He came back with another fantastic track that grabbed everyone’s attention but also got negative which made him re-record it.
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.
Although for this song, he recently sued Indian Bollywood director Karan Johar for using his track without taking his rights that went viral.
Abrar-ul-Haq’s every song landed in hot boil water because after that his next song Parveen took him to the Supreme Court where SC 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.”
Personal Life
Abrar-ul-Haq in 2005 tied the knot with Hareem Abrar who became her life partner. With her, he has a son and daughter. Abrar has never got into any kind of personal controversy that damaged his image or anything.
He has always kept personal and professional life separate from each other.
Sahara for Life Trust
With music, he did achieve the enormous success which led him to shift his track toward becoming a philanthropist.
Sahara for Life Trust was established in 1998, it’s a non-profitable charitable organization promoting health and education in under-develop areas. The word Sahara stands for: “Services Aimed at Health and Awakening in Remote Areas”.
He decided to provide a better quality of education and health to improvise remote areas. Sahara for Life Trust is a magnanimous association advancing well-being and instruction in remote regions.
SLT is highly recognized and registered as a leading charitable organization in Pakistan, the U.K, and the U.S. it has also been certified by the Pakistan Center for Philanthropy (PCP) and U.N (under the charter of DESA).
Sahara for Life Trust has also established its first large-scale general hospital in Narowal, Pakistan.
Political Career
Abrar-ul-Haq began his political career in 2011 and joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Because of his insane popularity, he was appointed as President of the Youth Wing of PTI. Later in 2013, he was appointed as PTI’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs.
He then thought to upgrade his political career and went to compete for the National Assembly seat. He ran for the seat of the National Assembly as PTI’s Candidate for Constituency NA-117 (Narowal-III) in the 2013 Pakistani general elections receiving 51,359 votes but lost to PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal.
He lost to Ahsan Iqbal two consecutive times, which was devastating to watch for his fans. But that didn’t stop him to move forward, on 15 November 2019, he was appointed Pakistan Red Crescent Society’s 16th chairman and assumed office on 27 December 2019.
Awards & Recognition
For his efforts to make people’s lives better and provide high-quality education. His contribution as a philanthropist gave him success and honor.
- Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Medal of Excellence) received from the President of Pakistan on 23 March 2005 for public service/music/philanthropy.
- Sitara-e-Eisaar was received by the President of Pakistan on 30 June 2006 for outstanding humanitarian relief work during the 8 October 2005 devastating earthquake in Pakistan.
- Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)- Appointed Humanitarian Ambassador of OIC on 11 January 2011.
Abrar-ul-Haq has gained everything in his career up till now. From musician to philanthropist to a politician he left his mark in every field he dived in. in his musical career, he also got the title of “King of Pakistani Pop”.
