LAHORE – Pakistan’s legendary music composer Wazir Afzal breathed his last on Tuesday after a protracted illness at the age of 87.
Reports quoting family members and close friends of the deceased cited, that his health deteriorated in wake of renal issues and diabetes and he was admitted to the Shaikh Zayed Hospital a week before.
The funeral prayers were offered at Shah Khorasan Mosque in Lahore and he was laid to rest at Allama Iqbal Town graveyard. The funeral prayers were attended by Akbar Abbas, Qadir Shaggan, Khawar Abbas, Moin Butt, Baila Nasir, and people from various walks of life, including those associated with him for years.
Wazir came to Lahore after the Partition of India and then first settled in Karachi to join Radio Pakistan as an instrumentalist.
He later moved to Lahore where he started playing Sarod at Standard Hotel on The Mall, owned by the father of Khawaja Khurshid Anwar. He got fame after getting noticed by music composer Master Ghulam Haider who saw him playing musical instruments and asked him to start playing mandolin, instead of Sarod.
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Wazir learned to compose film music from Khawaja Khurshid Anwar and worked as his assistant. Following the journey, he then composed a number of songs for legendary singers including Noor Jehan and Mehdi Hasan. The deceased is known for his compositions for Naheed Akhtar and Parvez Mehdi as well.
He was awarded the Pride of Performance in 2010 as he composed 209 songs in 37 films, including 31 songs in five Urdu films and 178 songs in 31 Punjabi films.
Some of his memorable compositions include Shikwa Nah Ker Gila Nah Kar, Sayo Ni Meray Dil Da Jani, Ja Ajj Tu Mein Teri Tu Mera, Kehnday Nay Naina and, Neendraan Nahi Aandian, Chhap Tilak Sub Chheen and Yeh Rangeeni-i-Naubahar.
