KARACHI, Aug 30: Pride of Performance winning na’at khawan Alhaj Khursheed Ahmad died of a brain haemorrhage here at a local hospital on Thursday afternoon.

He was 51 and leaves a widow, two sons and two daughters. His funeral prayer will be offered at the Rahmania mosque on Tariq Road after Friday prayer and he will be laid to rest next to Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ghazi’s shrine.

Khursheed Ahmad had recently returned to the city after attending a mehfil-i-milad in Faisalabad. He started having blood pressure problems and was shifted to a hospital. After remaining under treatment for a week, during which time he was operated upon, he succumbed to a brain haemorrhage on Thursday.

The late Khursheed Ahmad’s parents had shifted to Pakistan from Mandrella near Jaipur (Rajasthan, India) after partition and settled in Rahim Yar Khan, from where he came to Karachi in 1973.

He had recited hundreds of na’ats, of which Yeh Sab Tumhara Karam Hai Aaqa became very popular. Some of his other popular na’ats include Mehboob ki Mahfil ko Mehboob Sajatey Hain, Jashn-i-Amad-i-Rasool Allah hi Allah, Meray Dil Mein Hay Yaad-i-Muhammad (PBUH) and Meray Kamli Walay Ki Shan Hay Nirali.

He had also recited na’ats in Parliament before the start of the session besides performing across the globe.

Khursheed Ahmad had been reciting na’ats since 1968 and had won first prize in an All Pakistan competition organised by PTV in 1978. His expertise was acknowledged officially and he was given various awards, the most important of which was the Pride of Performance, which he received in 1996. Khursheed Ahmad’s son Hasan Khursheed and brother Shafiq Ahmad also recite na’ats.