Mashooq Sultan (born Sultana Bibi; 1952 19 December 2016), was a Pakistani

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

and former actress. The recipient of numerous accolades, including, the highest national

literary award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded Literature, literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award c ...

of Pakistan the

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance (), officially known as the Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sp ...

, she is sometimes referred to as "Melody Queen of the

Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...

folk music" for her contributions to

Pashto music Pashto music () or ''Də ṭang-ṭakór'' is commonly performed in Afghanistan and Pakistan among Pashtun people. Genres Tappa Tappa () is the oldest and most popular genre of the Pashto poetry. The Tappa is a composition of two unequal met ...

and "Queen of the stage" for representing Pakistan in numerous countries, including the US, the UK, France, Belgium, the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

and in Afghanistan. As a

multilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

singer, she worked in 1,500 albums written in different

regional language * A regional language is a language spoken in a region of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area. Internationally, for the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority La ...

s such as

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

, Saraiki and primarily

. She also sang

ghazals ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

, and also worked as a playback singer in Pashto films.

Early life

She was born in

Swat District Swat District (), also known as the Swat Valley, is a Districts of Pakistan, district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Known for its stunning natural beauty, the district is a popular tourist destination. With a populati ...

's Chur Pinawrai town north of Shah Dehrai in

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

. When she was a child, her family shifted from

Shah Dehrai Shah Dherai (Pashto: شاه ډهيرۍ)is an administrative unit, known as Union council, of tehsil Kabal Swat District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. District Swat has 9 Tehsils i.e. Khwazakhela, Kabal, Madyan, Barikot, Mingora, a ...

Mardan Mardān is a city in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Located in the Valley of Peshawar, Mardan is the List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, second-largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (after Peshawar). ...

. She was married to Walayat Husain at twelve, with whom she had two daughters and four sons.

Career

When Mashooq was a teen (around sixteen), she first started singing as a wedding singer while performing during wedding ceremonies, and debuted in singing profession in 1962 when a Pakistani radio producer, Nawab Ali Khan Yousafzai introduced her to

Radio Pakistan The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (); also known as ''Radio Pakistan'', serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate its founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in P ...

, the national

public broadcaster Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

of the country, at Peshawar station. Besides radio, she was also associated with

Pakistan Television Corporation Pakistan Television Corporation (; reporting name: PTV); also known as ''Pakistan Television'', is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster founded by the Government of Pakistan, operating under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. I ...

. Prior to singing, she worked in Pashto films such as ''Jawargar'', ''

Janaan ''Janaan'' (Urdu/Pashto: جانان; ) is a 2016 Pakistani romantic comedy film directed by Azfar Jafri, written by Osman Khalid Butt and co-produced by Hareem Farooq, Munir Hussain, Imran Raza Kazmi and Reham Khan, under production banners o ...

'', including her first film ''

Darra Khaibar ''Darra Khaibar'' is a Pakistani Pashto film, starring Asif Khan and Surayya Khan. The film, directed by Mumtaz Ali Khan and produced by Habib Ullah Productions, was released on 14 May, 1971. Cast *Asif Khan *Surayya Khan Gulzar alam Referenc ...

'' and later chose to pursue singing. She received singing training from one of her neighbors who was affiliated with music, and later Nawab Ali Yousafzai took her

audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece gi ...

. After auditioning, she sang a duet

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an Originality, original piece or work of music, either Human voice, vocal or Musical instrument, instrumental, the musical form, structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new pie ...

with Gulab Sher in a children’s programme, designed for

preschool A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an school, educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they ...

ers. Later she performed in Rafiq Shinwari's folk song titled "Da pah deryab ke sailaboono." (I am drowned in a stream of your worries) by Fazal Ghani Mujahid which was recorded at Radio Pakistan.

Personal life

During her last days, she experienced difficult circumstances due to

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

and lived in a two-room rented house at Chughalpura,

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

. In pursuit of better career opportunities in singing, she had moved to Peshawar around ten years ago, and subsequently fractured a leg, having to sold her

jewellery Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

for treatment. It is believed she choose "folk singing" over "playback" due to

militancy The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Lat ...

that affected art and music in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in one of its administrative units Swat Valley. In 2008, she alleged

provincial government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, o ...

had discontinued paying a monthly stipend of Rs. 2,500 (approx. $40) she had received since the Pride of Performance was conferred on her.

Awards and accolades

She was the recipient of sixty medals. In 1996, she was awarded the Presidential Pride of Performance in recognition of her contribution to

. In 2010, the

Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the head of government of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The chief minister leads the legislative branch of the provincial government, and is elected by the Provincial Assembly. As lon ...

, Ameer Haider Khan Hoti presented

Rs. Rupee (, ) is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Afri ...

3,00,000 to Mashooq for her service to Pashto music. In 2015, the

Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa The Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as Governor of North-West Frontier Province) is the appointed head of state of the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province, or NWFP), Pakistan. Alth ...

Mehtab Abbasi Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan Abbasi (Urdu/Hindko: ; born 13 January 1953) is a Pakistani politician from Abbottabad who began his political career as an independent candidate in the 1985 election. He won seats in both the provincial and national as ...

presented Rs. 500,000 to her in recognition of her contributions to traditional music of Pashto. She was also the recipient of

Tamgha-e-Imtiaz Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (), also spelled as Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, is a state-organised honour of Pakistan. It is given to any civilian in Pakistan based on their achievements. While it is a civilian/military award, it can be bestowed upon officers of the ...

award.

Death

She was suffering from

health complication A complication in medicine, or medical complication, is an unfavorable result of a disease, health condition, or treatment. Complications may adversely affect the prognosis, or outcome, of a disease. Complications generally involve a worsening in ...

s and died in

on 19 December 2016 of multiple ailments such as

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver parenchyma, liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), Anorexia (symptom), poor appetite ...

and

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sultan, Mashooq 1952 births 20th-century Pakistani actresses Women ghazal singers Pakistani radio personalities Urdu-language singers Pakistani classical singers Pashto-language singers 2016 deaths People from Swat District Punjabi-language singers 21st-century Pakistani actresses Musicians from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistani folk singers 20th-century Pakistani women singers 20th-century Pakistani singers Recipients of the Pride of Performance 21st-century Pakistani women singers 21st-century Pakistani singers Recipients of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz