Naheed Akhtar


Naheed Akhtar is a renowned Pakistani playback singer. She is one of the most beloved andd successful singers of the subcontinent. Her career began in 1970 when she sang a duet with Khalid Asghar in "Raag Malhar" at Radio Pakistan Multan. Akhtar was born in Multan, Punjab.

Singing career

Naheed Akhtar has recorded songs in a range of styles, including Pakistani film music, pop, Ghazal, traditional Pakistani classical music, Punjabi folk songs, Qawwalis, Naat & Hamds & Others. She was first discovered for films by veteran music director M. Ashraf in the mid-1970s who pursued her to sing in films. She had no well-known person as ustad to train her musically but music director M. Ashraf played a key role in grooming her talent. Her inaugural film “Nanha Farishta” was released in 1974 and in the same year she sang songs in film Shama. Initially it was said in the film circles that she was introduced to fill the vacuum of Runa Laila who had migrated to Bangladesh. But later people realized that she had her own original singing style. She was active in the Pakistani film industry all the way through the 1980s.

Filmography - Urdu films

Filmography - Punjabi films

Naheed Akhtar made an appearance on stage in 2013, after repeated requests of the management of a TV show, where active and popular singers like Shabnam Majeed and Saima Jahan sang her songs to pay tribute to her. She stays busy with her family and children, and as of 2016, is not actively pursuing a singing career.

Awards and honors

Television programmes