Khursheed Ahmad

Alhaj Khursheed Ahmad (1 January 1956 – 30 August 2007) was a Pakistani naat reciter who began as a small child and by his death had sung thousands of naats, not only in Urdu but in Punjabi, Saraiki, Pashto and Sindhi. ^{1 2}

He was born at Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab to parents who had migrated from Mandrella near Jaipur, Rajasthan. In 1973 he moved to Karachi and joined Radio Pakistan as a typist, and that year won first place in a naat competition at Dow Medical College. ¹

He learned voice training and the art of the naat from Ustad Ishaq Nizami, and Mehdi Zaheer introduced him to the radio as a naat khawan; he began in 1968. In 1978 Pakistan Television held its first naat competition, at Sindh and then national level, and he took first place in both. ¹

His best-known naats include 'Zameen-o-Zaman Tumhare Liye', which made his name, 'Yeh Sab Tumhara Karam Hai Aaqa', 'Koi Saleeqa Hai Arzoo Ka', 'Mehboob Ki Mehfil Ko Mehboob Sajatey Hain' and 'Meray Dil Mein Hai Yaad-e-Muhammad'. He was the first Pakistani naat khawan to recite around the world — the United States, Japan, Switzerland, Yemen, France, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Canada — and he also recited in the National Assembly of Pakistan before a session opened. ¹

He received the Nigar Award and, in 1996, the Pride of Performance from the Government of Pakistan. ¹

Back in Karachi from a mehfil-e-milad in Faisalabad, he developed blood-pressure problems and was taken to hospital; after a week of treatment and an operation he died of a brain haemorrhage on 30 August 2007, as Dawn reported. He was prayed over at the Rahmania Mosque on Tariq Road after the Friday prayer and buried beside the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi; many naat khawans, among them Qari Waheed Zafar Qasmi, attended. His son Hasan Khursheed and his brother Shafiq Ahmad are also naat khawans. ^{1 2}

Wikidata listed articles on him in four Wikipedia editions on 6 November 2026: Arabic, Bengali, English and Urdu. ²

• English Wikipedia article, revision of 20 July 2026. ¹

• Wikidata item Q6403132. ²