Dilan Teer Bija

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Dilan Teer Bija (or Dila Teer Bija; lit. 'an arrow to your heart',[1] the arrow being the election symbol for the Pakistan People's Party) is a Pakistani Balochi-language political song composed by Zahoor Khan Zeibi and sung by Shabana Noshi. The song was originally released in 1987 as part of a larger five-album set of music to support Benazir Bhutto and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in the following year's general election.[2] Genre-wise, the song mixes traditional Balochi folk music with influence from the Lyari disco scene, a Karachi neighborhood known as a PPP stronghold where the song was recorded.[3] The song was one of the first produced for a party's political campaign in Pakistan, and became popular upon release, with the PPP and it's ideological ally Muhajir Qaumi Movement going on to produce many political songs in Karachi through to the 1993 Pakistani general election, where the opposing Jamaat-i-Islami party also produced their own song.[4][5] Later on, the song also became popular in Hyderabad, India as a wedding song in the marfa tradition arising from its similar rhythm and use of the dhol compared to traditional marfa songs. It has become so embedded in the culture of Hyderabad that many people there are unaware of its Pakistani origin and it is often simply called "the Bhutto song".[3] Additionally, the song's melody was adapted for the number Main Na Jhoot Bolun in the 1991 Indian film Indrajeet.[6][7] In 2010, Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, Benazir's daughter, and Stewart Copeland remixed the song for the documentary film Bhutto.[8]

References

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  1. ^ DailyTimes.pk (3 January 2019). "Bilawal condoles with family of 'Dila Teer Bija' composer in Lyari". Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  2. ^ Mahmood, Rafay (4 January 2019). "Man behind PPP's anthem passes away as 'Dila Teer Bija' lives on". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  3. ^ a b Khan, Bushra (1 September 2025). "How Pakistan's political Bhutto song became Hyderabad's marfa hit". Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  4. ^ Paracha, Nadeem F. (6 May 2013). "The song remains the same". Dawn. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  5. ^ "Party songs, slogans motivating voters in election". The Nation. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  6. ^ Bharathi, S. Pradhan (25 October 2015). "Borrowed from Pakistan". The Telegraph (India). Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  7. ^ "'Gabbar is Back' item number rips off Pakistani song". The Express Tribune (newspaper). 17 April 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  8. ^ Imtiaz, Saba (12 June 2010). "Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari remixes PPP song". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 14 December 2025.