KARACHI: “The message we want to convey is not just for the Pakistani nation but for the whole world. I have noticed that ever since violence in the India-held Kashmir has escalated, our artists are quiet about it. I’m a little disappointed in those colleagues of mine who are afraid to talk about it. Apart from being a national and artistic issue, it is also a humanitarian issue.”

This was said by popular singer Umair Jaswal at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Saturday afternoon held to announce a ‘Kashmir theme anthem song’ which will be composed and released within 10 days.

Mr Jaswal thanked Umer Ahsan, the man behind the project, for giving him the opportunity to be a part of the song. He said renowned artists such as Sabir Zafar (poet who is writing the lyrics to the song), Abid Ali (actor, who will lend his voice to the voiceover segment) and Waqar Ali (music director who will compose the song) would be participating in the project. He said he wanted every child of Pakistan to know that in one part of our neighbourhood people were being oppressed (buhat zayadah zulm ho raha hai) and it was important to raise your voice against it. This anthem, he said, would not be a Kashmir anthem; rather it would be an anthem for humanity. There’s no financial interest in it, and people were working on it on a voluntary basis, he said.

Mr Jaswal said a few weeks back he posted a Kashmir status on his Facebook page with the line ‘Free Kashmir’. He said he noticed that thousands ‘unliked’ his page. He said he came to know that it was from India that the most number of people had ‘unfollowed’ him. He said it did not worry him because it made him realise how their media had blinded their people.

Mr Jaswal said 10 million people could not be terrorists and so many people could not be silenced. He said they (Kashmiris) were our brothers, were Muslims and part of us. He said whoever we were in this country we should be able to raise our voice for this issue. He said if the top artists in India had sided with their government, then we too should say ‘sub se pehle Pakistan’ and talk about humanity.

Earlier Umer Ahsan said Kashmir had become the biggest jail of the world. He said while our valiant forces were sacrificing their lives, it was also the duty of all Pakistanis to do something about it. He said keeping that in mind, the showbiz fraternity was approached which responded in a positive manner. He said Jaswal was a busy man but he and others came forward for the Kashmir cause to create a theme anthem song. He said Sabir Zafar was writing the lyrics to the song and Waqar Ali was doing the composition. He said Alycia Dias, Ali Azmat and Tina Sani had also offered their services.

Another person working on the project, Faisal, said our government should make policies as per the Pakistani nation’s aspirations.

Replying to a question Umer Ahsan said the song would be released within 10 days. He said a second press conference would be organised on the launch of the song followed by another presser on its video release.

Published in Dawn October 16th, 2016