Naheed Akhtar

Naheed Akhtar (also spelled Nahid Akhtar; born 26 September 1956) is a Pakistani playback singer. She is tagged as the "Nightingale of Pakistan". She was the top Lollywood playback singer during the second half of the 1970s and 80s. She is one of the most popular and successful singers of Pakistan. She won 3 Nigar Awards and a Pride of Performance in 2007.

Early life and family Naheed was born on 26 September 1956, in Multan, Punjab. She has 3 sisters and 4 brothers. One of her sisters, Hamida Akhtar, was also a singer.

Singing career Naheed's career began in 1970 when she sang a duet with Khalid Asghar in "Raag Malhar" at Radio Pakistan Multan. She has recorded songs in a range of styles, including Pakistani film music, pop, Ghazal, traditional Pakistani classical music, Punjabi folk songs, Qawwalis, Naat & Hamds and others. She was first discovered for films in the mid-1970s by veteran music director M. Ashraf who pursued her to sing in films. She had no well-known person as ustad (teacher) to train her musically but music director M. Ashraf played a key role in grooming her talent. Her inaugural film "Nanha Farishta" was released in 1974 and in the same year she sang songs in the film Shama. Initially it was said in the film circles that she was introduced to fill the vacuum of Runa Laila who had migrated to Bangladesh. But later people recognized the originality of her singing style. She was active in the Pakistani film industry all the way through the 1980s. where active and popular singers like Shabnam Majeed, Humaira Channa, Humaira Arshad, Fariha Pervez, Saira Naseem, A. Nayyar, Hamid Ali Khan and Saima Jehan sang her songs to pay tribute to her. She stays busy with her family and children, and , is not actively pursuing a singing career.

Popular songs A list of Naheed's popular songs includes: Nigar Film Awards Best Singer Pehchan 1975 Lux Style Awards Lifetime Achievement Award Mauritius 2007 Pride of Performance Award Arts Islamabad 2007 PTV Lifetime Achievement Award Music Islamabad 2010 Kemal-e-Fun Medal Music Lifetime Achievement 2013