Pakistani band’s tribute to India’s Zubeen Garg strikes rare cross-border chord
A Karachi pop-rock band’s emotional performance of an iconic song in memory of late Indian singer Zubeen Garg is melting hearts across South Asia, a rare moment of musical unity in a divided region.
Amid simmering political tensions between India and Pakistan, a moment of unexpected musical unity emerged from Karachi, and it’s going viral across the subcontinent.
At a recent live performance, Pakistani pop-rock band Khudgharz paid tribute to the late Indian singer Zubeen Garg with a powerful rendition of “Ya Ali”, the iconic song that Garg famously sang for the 2006 Bollywood film Gangster.
The emotional performance, met with thunderous applause, quickly struck a chord far beyond Pakistan’s borders.
Clips of the performance spread rapidly across social media, with Indian fans expressing gratitude and disbelief over the tribute, particularly given the historically strained ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Garg, one of India’s most beloved cultural icons from the northeastern state of Assam, passed away in a swimming accident a few weeks back in Singapore.
Known for his extraordinary versatility, having sung in over 30 languages, Garg built a massive fan base across India and even among music lovers in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
His performance of Ya Ali became an anthem for an entire generation, blending Sufi-rock elements with Bollywood melancholy.
For many, hearing it performed live in Pakistan felt like more than just nostalgia; it felt like healing.
For Khudgharz, the decision to pay tribute was deeply personal.
Lead guitarist and vocalist Asjad Khan told TRT World they had performed “Ya Ali” before, but after hearing the news of Garg’s sudden passing, they felt compelled to honour him publicly.
“When we did it last weekend in Karachi,” Khan recalled, “thousands joined our voices to pay him the tribute.”
He also highlighted how Garg’s music resonated with Pakistani audiences despite language differences: “Though Zubeen had mostly sung in regional Indian languages, some of his songs were in Urdu and Hindi, which connected well with audiences here.”
The tribute was unannounced, but the crowd responded instantly, from the very first note played by keyboardist Ahsan. “It was very sudden for the crowd,” Khan said, “yet they embraced it immediately. We loved it.”
Art overcomes borders
The India-Pakistan relationship remains fraught, from diplomatic deadlocks and border skirmishes to cultural bans.
In recent years, Bollywood films and Indian artists have been informally barred in Pakistan, and vice versa.
In such a climate, a public tribute to an Indian artist in a Pakistani city holds special significance.
Khudgharz’s performance reminds both nations that while politics divide, music still unites, cutting through national lines, religious identities, and political narratives.
Arsalan Ali, Khudgharz’s manager, spoke to TRT World about the broader importance of such cross-border gestures.
“We’ve seen cricket diplomacy fail recently during the Asia Cup in the UAE,” Ali noted.
“But cross-border tributes like this continue to be appreciated by audiences on both sides. Reading thousands of comments from fans in India and Pakistan, it’s clear music is still the way forward. It might sound cliché, but music truly knows no boundaries.”