Pak band Laal sings for Malala Yousufzai

A rock band in Pakistan is openly singing in support of teenager activist Malala Yousufzai and has got good response despite the fundamentalist elements in the country. The band ‘Laal’ has created two songs - ‘Darte hai bunduko wali ek nehati ladki se’ and an English rock number ‘You give me hope Malala’ which have been well received in most parts of Pakistan, said its founder, writer, spokesman and lead vocalist Taimur. [caption id=“attachment_124820” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  “Talibans are a minuscule part of Pakistan and the people hate them" - Taimur Rehman. AFP[/caption] “Yes we get a lot of hate mails for the two songs supporting Malala. But we have not received any credible threats so far,” Taimur, who is here to participate in ‘Beti Zindabad’ campaign of international NGO ActionAid, told PTI. There has been enthusiastic response for the two songs in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and Rawalpindi besides Swat Valley of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the girl faced Taliban threats and then was pumped bullets in her head and neck for her activism for rights to education for women. “Talibans are a minuscule part of Pakistan and the people hate them,” he said. The songs have been well received even in the rural areas of Punjab and Sindh too where girls too came out and joined, he said. Malala’s father Ziauddin Yousafzai had sent Laal an e-mail from England, where the family now resides after the Taliban attack on the girl, thanking it for the two songs, said Taimur, who composed the songs and created the music. “Campaigns like ours should be launched globally. There are grave inequities between men and women in Pakistan. Malala is a brave girl who tried to address these inequities,” he said. Taimur, who began as an assistant professor and coordinator of political science at Lahore University of Management Sciences, said the fact that he is a teacher helps him to understand the modern youth. The music of the two songs is contemporary and rock. “Unlike in India where Bollywood has a profound influence, the influence of Lollywood is not as much in Pakistan.” PTI