Atta Ullah Khan Esakhelvi

Attaullah Khan Niazi Sajid (aka Attahullah Khan Esakhelvi) is a Pakistani musician. Esakhelvi was born on 19 August 1951 in Esa Kheil, Mianwali, Pakistan. Niazi is a populous Pashtun tribe based in extreme north-west Punjab province of Pakistan. Esakhelvi continued his music training from early age. In 1972, Esakhelvi was invited to perform on Radio Pakistan, Bahawalpur. That same year, he performed in a concert in Mianwali. Esakhelvi performed on the television show Neelam Ghar in 1973. He was invited by a company in Faisalabad to record folk songs in their studio, and recorded four albums in one recording session. The albums were released at the end of 1977 and became national bestsellers. In 1980, Esakhelvi performed in the United Kingdom for the first time. It was also his first concert abroad. He is considered a folk icon in his home country and considered as one of the most popular singers in its history. For years, Esakhelvi reigned supreme and unchallenged, in a universe that existed parallel to the cultured music salons of the elite. He has recorded more than 50,000 songs in seven languages and had his name entered in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1994 for the highest number of audio albums released. The Government of Pakistan awarded him the Sitara-e-Imtiaz on 23 March 2019 and he also got the Pride of Performance Award in 1991. He has also received a lifetime achievement award from Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.