Source: The Express Tribune, 2 March 2026 — “Hamza Akram Qawwaal enthral NAPA audience” — https://tribune.com.pk/story/2595321/hamza-akram-qawwaal-enthral-napa-audience
The National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) organised a qawwali night with Hamza Akram and party at its Zia Mohyeddin Theatre in Karachi, and the hall was full.
Hamza Akram, of the 26th generation of the Qawwal Bachon ka Gharana, performed with his two brothers, Taimoor Akram and Abdul Akram, to a capacity crowd, singing some of the most popular pieces from their repertoire. The evening began with “Allah Hu Allah Hu”, composed in Raag Bhairon and Jhaptaal. Hamza then moved to “Mere Banne ki Baat na Poocho”, the famous naat his grandfather, Ustad Munshi Raziuddin, used to sing, written by Kamil Hyderabadi.
From there the night followed the arc of the tradition itself: Hazrat Amir Khusrau’s timeless “Mun Kuntu Maula”, and a closing piece, Hazrat Maulana Jaami’s “Naseema Janib-e Bagtha Guzarkun”. A full house enjoyed the evening throughout, with applause again and again — and the qawwali was followed by Sehri for the audience, a fitting end to a night that ran into the small hours.
NAPA, founded by Zia Mohyeddin at the request of then-President Pervez Musharraf as a national institution for the arts, is one of Karachi’s most serious stages for classical performance. A capacity crowd there, for a qawwali night built on the classical repertoire rather than on familiar film songs, says something about the audience the brothers have built: listeners who come for the kalaam itself, and stay for the whole night.
This post is a rephrased summary of The Express Tribune’s report of 2 March 2026, shared here for our press archive. Read the original at the link above.
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