Popular folk singer Shaukat Ali passed away on Friday (today) after a protracted illness in Lahore.
Imran Shaukat, son of Shaukat Ali said that his father, who was suffering from liver issues, was under treatment at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Lahore.
In a video message earlier, his son Ameer Shaukat Ali had requested fans to pray for the recovery of his ailing father. He had said, “I would request the entire nation to pray for Shaukat Ali who is critically ill.” Ali went on to reveal that the Pakistan army was treating his father on the special directives of Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
He also said he was thankful to Major General Babar Iftikhar, the Director General of Inter-Service Public Relations.
Shaukat is known for his war-time patriotic songs Saathio Mujahido Jag utha hai sara watan and Tauheed ka parcham lehraya and many others. According to reports, he had been unwell for the past several years.
The late singer was also a recipient of the Pride of Performance award. And the Ghazal maestro was one of the most prolific artists of the Pakistani music industry with a singing career spanning five decades.
Shaukat Ali started his career performing at stage. His first popular song was “Kyon door door rehnde o huzoor mere kolon.” The song garnered significant praise and brought notable fame and recognition for Shaukat Ali.
Beside patriotic and Punjabi songs, Shaukat sang many Urdu ghazals, out of which “jab bahar aai to sehra ki taraf chal nikla” is sung even today by all kind of music lovers.