Pakistanis are nothing if not patriotic. We are a people who are bold with our expressions of patriotism and nationalism and along the way, some really great art has come out of it – including pop music.
Below we list down some of our favorite military-inspired music in honor of Defence Day.
Rah e Haq Kay Shaheedon
Featuring some of Pakistan’s best contemporary voices, Coke Studio produced a mini-version of this Noor Jehan classic. Also, featuring the late Amjab Sabri, the rendition is an emotional one.
Aye Watan Kay Sajeelay Jawanon
What a wonderful piece of poetry for our soldiers! The soulful number was written by Jamiluddin Aali (who also wrote Jeevay Pakistan) and Madam Noor Jehan’s emotive singing is just stellar.
Aisay Hum Jeeyan
From Madam to Vital Signs, we moved from an emotional ballad about sacrifice to flirting with bravado, male camaraderie and big, sexy machines. Actually it wasn’t so much flirting as it was a straight up expression of a forever kind of love.
Har Ghari Tayyar Kamran Hein Hum
Last year, the ISPR produced an updated version of this classic with Ali Azmat, Ali Hamza, Ali Noor and Asim Azhar. While there is some eye candy in the video (not the musicians, with the exception of Ali Hamza) and the production quality is slick, it lacked the ‘josh’ of both the Noor Jehan and Vital Signs. But still a great way of introducing the younger audience to this classic.
Call of Peace
While the Pakistani Navy generally keeps a lower public profile than the Army and Airforce, the song released for the 45- country joint naval exercise in February 2021 was a pleasantly catchy number. Extra points for focus on peace and friendship.
Saada e Pakistan
Yet another ode to the boys in blue – the most glamorous of our soldiers, the pilots of the Pakistan Air Force. Produced for the second anniversary of Operation Swift Retort (when the Indian plane with Abhinandan was shot down).
Do you have a favourite national song? Let us know in the comments below.