Pop singer from Pakistan delights Riyadh audience

RIYADH: Pakistani pop singer Raheem Shah on Friday enthralled the packed-hall audience here at the King Fahd Cultural Center during a live concert organized by the Pakistan Embassy as part of their national day celebrations.
The concert, titled “Pakistan Day Celebration: A Cultural Evening With Raheem Shah,” was a part of a program to promote musical heritage as well as provide high-quality amusement to Pakistani music lovers in the Kingdom.
The renditions by the popular pop star from Karachi, who sings in Urdu, Pashto and Punjabi, made people ecstatic, compelling them to join in the fun, feel the thrill and fully entertain themselves.
Shah delighted the audience with his popular songs “Channa Ve Channa,” “Bibi Shireeni,” and “Terey Ishq Ne Keethy,” showing his versatility which has become a real crowd puller.
Shah also attracted the attention of Indian music lovers with his popular song “Pehle Toh Kabhi Kabhi Gham Tha,” a tune which has also been copied by Indian singer Altaf Raza.
Notably, Shah has a huge fan base in India as well as Afghanistan, hence his audience includes people from these two countries as well awards him thunderous applause as the appreciative audience realizes the reason behind his fame.
Speaking on this occasion, Shah thanked the Pakistani Embassy for the concert and praised his government for for promoting the musical heritage of the country.
Pakistan Ambassador Manzoor ul Haq on the occasion said that the musical evening provided an opportunity to showcase different aspects of Pakistani culture.
“Such programs provide moments of joy and delight to music lovers,” said one audience member while appreciating the program.
The audience numbered about 2,000 people including children and family members.
“Such musical evenings, besides making people aware of their cultural heritage, introduces them to the rich talent which rightly should be a matter of pride for the country,” echoed another audience member.
The Pakistan Embassy has been arranging such cultural programs, promoting both visual and performing arts for music lovers, which include a famous concert by folk and Sufi singer Sanam Marvi, who has created a niche for herself on the Pakistani music scene in a very short span of time, and Arif Lohar, another Punjabi folk singer from Pakistan.