"Ehtesaab" (Urdu: احتساب, literal English translation: "accountability") is the second track on the 1995 compilation album '' Kashmakash'' by the

sufi rock Sufi rock or Sufi folk rock is a subgenre of rock music that combines rock with classical Islamic Sufi music traditions. It emerged in the early 1990s and became widely popular in the late 1990s in Pakistan and Turkey. The term "Sufi rock" was co ...

band Junoon, and is the second single from the album. After the release of the band's first real big hit single "

Jazba-e-Junoon "Jazba-e-Junoon" (Urdu: جذبہ جنوں, literal English translation: "the spirit of passion") is a song by the Pakistani sufi rock band Junoon. It is the thirteenth and final track from the band's album third album, '' Inquilaab'' (1996), ...

", which was the song of the

1996 Cricket World Cup The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup 1996 for sponsorship reasons, was the sixth Cricket World Cup organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was co-hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The tournament wa ...

. "Ehtesaab" was their second hit and was released in December 1996. The video of the single was directed by Pakistani director,

Shoaib Mansoor Shoaib Mansoor (; born 4 February 1951 Karachi) is a Pakistani television and film director, writer, producer, lyricist and musician of Mahajir (Pakistan), Muhajir origin. Active in the Television in Pakistan, television industry since 1976, w ...

. The controversial video release of the song mocked Pakistani politics and led to the video of the song being banned from PTV, Pakistan's State television. The video of the single also featured in

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

film ''The Princess and the Playboy'', an exposé on Benazir's and her husband's reign. In ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'',

Carla Power Carla Power is an American author. Early life and education As a child, Power lived in St. Louis, Missouri and also in Iran, India, Afghanistan, Egypt and Italy as her family moved around. She studied at Yale University, and gained an M.Phil. in ...

dedicated a full-page story to Junoon with the headline "For God and Country."

Music video

The blunt, hard-hitting "Ehtesaab" video shows

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

children working backbreaking menial jobs, juxtaposed with fictional politicians gorging themselves at five-star hotels. It also includes a scene in which a horse is dining at a luxury hotel (a deliberated reference to polo ponies kept by

Asif Zardari Asif Ali Zardari (born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician serving as the 14th president of Pakistan since 2024, having held the same office from 2008 to 2013. He is the president of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and was the c ...

). Those mares ate better than many of Pakistan's poor. In air conditioned stables, no less.

Controversies

Junoon were courted for the controversial video release of the single which included footage of a polo pony eating in a posh restaurant by the Pakistani government. Many thought that the image was an indictment of the corrupt

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

i political elite, and especially of former Prime Minister

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

. The government quickly responded to it and banned the song and video from the state television. In 1997, Junoon went on their first Indian tour. The band's first concert was held in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. After travelling throughout the country, Junoon saw crowds of as many as of 50,000 fans at different venues. The band was courted for a controversy during their tour to India by the Pakistani government. The Indian government was testing nuclear devices at that time, and

Salman Ahmad Salman Ahmad (, born 12 December 1963) is a Pakistani born-American musician, rock guitarist, physician, activist, occasional actor and professor at the City University of New York. He earned nationwide popularity in 1998 for his unique sty ...

suggested that the Indian and Pakistani leaders should spend more on education and health and less on weapons. This led to a prolonged ban on Junoon's music by the Pakistani government. PTV, the Pakistan state television, refused to show the audience even clips from Junoon releases. The Ministry of Culture charged Junoon with making comments in India amounting to sedition and treason. The band members denied these charges reminding people of the fact that they had been victimised since the release of "Ehtesaab" because they chose to speak out against political corruption.

Track listing

Ehtesaab

Personnel

;Junoon *

Ali Azmat Ali Azmat Pacha (born 20 April 1966) is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He is best known as the lead singer for the influential Sufi rock band Junoon and for his subsequent solo career later followed by a career as an act ...

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

* Brian O'Connell -

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

;Additional musicians *Backing vocals by

Najam Sheraz Najam Sheraz (Urdu: نجم شیراز) is a Pakistani pop singer and songwriter. Early life Najam Sheraz was born in Multan, Pakistan on 2 August 1969. He played professional cricket. He graduated from the University of Engineering and Technolo ...

Published sources

(2010), '' Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star’s Revolution for Peace'', Free Press. .

References

External links

Junoon Official Website

{{authority control 1996 singles Junoon (band) songs Songs written by Salman Ahmad 1995 songs EMI Records singles