Death of folksinger Kifayat Shah Bacha widely condoled

PESHAWAR: Cultural and literary bodies here on Sunday expressed profound grief and sorrow over the killing of popular folk singer Syed Kifayat Shah Bacha and termed his death a great loss for the Pashto folk music.

It may be mentioned that Kifayat Shah Bacha was shot dead by his rivals last Friday. Hailing from Zaida city in Swabi district, Kifayat Shah Bacha was born in 1965. He received his education till 8th grade but grew up with a flair for folk music as his father used to play sitar on the green fields.

He had released 250 audio and video albums and enjoyed widespread fame for his unique style of singing and playing sitar. Also, he was recipient of several awards, including radio Peshawar and PTV Peshawar for the best folk artiste. He has been to Gulf States, Afghanistan, UK and USA for live performances. He served as the president of ‘HTWS’ district Swabi chapter.

Artiste community and literati across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have condoled the killing of Kifayat Shah Bacha and expressed deep sympathies with the bereaved family while terming his death an irreparable loss to Pashto folk music.

Kifayat Shah Bacha had launched his own welfare organization on August 14 last and through a video message, which proved to be his last one he had appealed to overseas Pakistanis to help him financially so that he could assist local poor people in providing shelter and household items.

“We, the artiste community from the entire province express our profound grief on the tragic death of Kifayat Shah Bacha and extend our sincere sympathies to his family. I have been receiving messages from his Pakhtun fans from around the world since his death news went viral on social media,” Rashid Khan, president of artistes’ body in Peshawar, told the media.

Kifayat Shah Bacha used to entertain audiences and wanted to spread a message of peace and most often sang those folk numbers that were reflective of love for homeland and people, said Prof Abaseen Yousafzai, patron-in-chief of the Pohantun Adabi Stori.

Laiqzada Laiq, senior poet and author of the book ‘Fankaar Na Maree’ (artiste never dies), said that with the death of Kifayat Shah Bacha, Pashto lost a treasure trove of folk music. Senior poet Noorul Amin Yousafzai while sharing his views said: “He was the pride of KP and the country at large because he had rejected offers of seeking asylum from his fans in the Gulf States and England despite threats from rivals”.