ISLAMABAD: Iqbal Bano, who got the title of Queen of Ghazal, passed away 12 years ago.

The mention of ghazal singing is incomplete without Iqbal Bano. He took the ghazal to new heights with his voice and also immortalized his name.

Iqbal Bano, who made a name for herself in the world of music with her unique singing, was born in 1935 in Delhi. He started his artistic career in 1950 with Radio Pakistan.

After Mehdi Hassan, Iqbal Bano excelled in singing the words of Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

In the fifties, Iqbal Bano made a name for herself as a playback singer in Pakistan’s fledgling film industry, singing songs for Anonymous, Nagan, Ishq Laila, Best Seller and Killer.

He also adopted ghazal in his own semi-classical style and made whatever he sang everlasting.

Iqbal Bano, who proved her mettle in ghazals and poems by singing Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poem ‘We must also see’, besides Faiz Sahib, also sang the words of Allama Iqbal, Mirza Ghalib and Ahmad Faraz.

He was awarded numerous honors, including the Medal of Merit.

Iqbal Bano left millions of her loved ones in mourning on April 21, 2009 and hid in the dust, but if her voice is heard anywhere even today, the steps of the people of heart stop and the beating is out of control.