ISLAMABAD, June 1: Renowned folk singer Tufail Niazi was paid rich tributes at a musical evening that was organised in his honour at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) on Wednesday.

The folk singers including Javed Niazi, Qurban Niazi, Baber Niazi, Shehanshah Niazi, Saira Arshad, Mohammad Ali, Afshan Zaibi, Nadeem Lohar and Badar Sadaqat enthralled the music lovers at the show titled Lok Mausiqi ki Sham which was a part of PNCA’s regular programmes to pay tribute to the folk artists.

Babar Niazi, Javaid Niazi and Shehanshah Niazi, sons of late Tufail Niazi gave excellent performance bringing forth the memories of the good old days of their father's excellence in the art of folk singing.

They showed their skill and proved that they had learnt it well from their father who was a pupil of ‘Kapporthalla Gharana’. Tufail Niazi as a folk singer received ‘Saraswati Award’ from South India.

Javaid Niazi and Babar Niazi began their career as music artists in 1981, when they performed alongside their father in India from where they received the KL Sehgal Award. They have also won other national and international awards.

Talking to this agency, Director General PNCA Tauqeer Nasir said that the programmes like this musical evening played an important role in promoting the cultural heritage among the younger generation.

He said that PNCA was focussing on preservation and dissemination of country's centuries-old great traditions and rich musical heritage by lauding the services of those artists who had dedicated themselves to art and thereby brought great laurels to their country. —APP