Urain Ge

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"Urain Ge"
Title cover
Single by Ali Zafar
LanguageUrdu
Released7 February 2015 (2015-02-07)
Recorded2015
GenrePatriotic
Length4:28
LabelSaga
SongwriterAli Zafar

"Urain Ge" (Urdu: اڑیں گے, lit. 'Will Fly') is a 2015 Pakistani song, written and produced by Ali Zafar. It was released in honour of the victims of the 2014 Peshawar school massacre, and to support the campaign titled 141 Schools for Peace with The Citizens Foundation.

Background

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In 2014, Pakistan faced military and political instability, when Pakistan Armed Forces launched Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan against various groups, including Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), in the wake of terrorism.[1][2]

Later, on 16 December 2014, six gunmen attacked inside the Army Public School, Peshawar, killing 132 children and 9 school staff members, making it one of the world's deadliest school massacres. The children were forced to see their teachers dying, including their principal, Tahira Qazi. Pakistan Army's Special Service Group (SSG) launched a quick rescue operation and killed the terrorists. They rescued an estimated 960 people, though 139 were injured.[3][4]

Omar Khalid Khorasani, TTP's spokesperson, took responsibility for the attack and claimed it was a revenge against the Operation Zarb-e-Azb.[5][6] The school reopened on 12 January 2015 with ensured security and high spirits of the students and the staff.[7]

Songwriting and recording

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"We all got together because we all want a progressive, peaceful, tolerant and positive Pakistan [...] education is the way forward. It's the key to progress and peace".
~ Ali Zafar, who endorsed TCF's 141 Schools for Peace campaign[8]

Ali Zafar cancelled his concert tours and events soon after the incident, including the one in Durban, South Africa, on New Year's Eve. Weeks later, he went to his studio to write and record the song "Urain Ge". It was released on 7 February 2015 via ARY Digital Network.[9][8][10]

To record the music video, he gathered several celebrities from the country at a studio in Korangi, Karachi. They included Sajjad Ali, Jawed Sheikh, Humaima Malick, Fahad Mustafa, Mohammed Ali Shehki, Fawad Khan, Meesha Shafi, Saba Qamar, Junaid Khan, Junaid Younus, Mehreen Raheal, Haroon Rashid, Haroon Shahid, Farhad Humayun, Hadiqa Kiani, Mikaal Zulfiqar, Gohar Rasheed, Fariha Pervez, Asad Ahmed, Shoaib Malik, Ahsan Khan, Anwar Maqsood, Sajid Hasan, Marina Khan, Sahira Kazmi, Ali Kazmi, Behroze Sabzwari, Bushra Ansari, Ali Azmat, Hamza Ali Abbasi, Bilal Lashari, Aamina Sheikh, Mohib Mirza, Humayun Saeed, Mehwish Hayat, Mahira Khan, Imran Abbas, and Sanam Saeed.[11][12]

Shahzeb Jillani wrote in BBC News that the song starts in a "grave" mood, but the rising tempo transforms the music into "something uplifting".[13] Anum Rehman Chagani of Dawn believed that the song may "become the anthem for hope for our nation".[10] Besides the showbiz unity in the music video, Zafar also appreciated the political unity after a long dispute in the aftermath of the Peshawar attack. He also urged a nationwide unity, so to put a positive image of the country towards peace and progress in the world map.[8][11][12]

Personnel

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  • Video concieved and produced by Ali Zafar[a]
  • Directed by Abdullah Haris and Bilal Khan
  • Public relations: Ammara Hikmat
  • Flute/Orchestral arrangement: Baqir Abbas
  • Programming: Badshah
  • Electric guitar: Asad Ahmed
  • Acoustic guitar: Danyal Zafar
  • Director of photography: Saif and Sabeeh Khan
  • Editing: Mukhtar Ali Awan and Abdullah Haris
  • Rotoscoping: Adnan Ayub
  • Post-production: 12Gates
  • Hair and makeup: N-Pro by Nabila

Influence

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The Citizens Foundation (TCF), an educational nonprofit organization that builds schools for underprivileged children in Pakistan, partnered with the 141 Schools for Peace campaign, and decided the locations across Pakistan to build the schools. The budgetary cost was estimated to be Rs. 2.07 crore.[b][15][16] Ali Zafar, whose parents are educationalists, also wanted to contribute to education and committed to supporting the cause by donating all proceeds from the song "Urain Ge". Their collective aim was to build 141 schools and dedicate each school to a victim of the Peshawar attack.[8]

At Rs. 10 per legal sale of the song, Zafar donated about Rs. 2 lakh to the cause.[b][17] By the tenth anniversary in 2024, TCF announced that the mission to establish 141 school units had been completed.[18]

See also

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External videos
video icon "Urain Ge" (music video) on YouTube
video icon Ali Zafar endorses TCF's 141 Schools for Peace Initiative 2014 on YouTube

Notes

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  1. ^ Credits extracted from the music video
  2. ^ a b See Indian numbering system. In 2015, US$1 was equivalent to average Rs. 102.70.[14]

References

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  1. ^ Zahir Shah Sherazi (15 June 2014). "Zarb-e-Azb operation: 120 suspected militants killed in N Waziristan". Dawn. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  2. ^ Jamal Khurshid (14 October 2014). "Zarb-e-Azb: Gear up for the 'forever war'". The News. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  3. ^ "No hostages: Terrorists wanted to inflict maximum casualties, says DG ISPR". The Express Tribune. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  4. ^ Arifa Qazi; Halima Mansoor (10 May 2015). "Tahira Qazi: To mother, with love". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  5. ^ Jon Boone; Ewen MacAskill (16 December 2014). "Pakistan responds to Peshawar school massacre with strikes on Taliban". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  6. ^ James Rush (19 December 2014). "These are the men that slaughtered 132 innocent children". The Independent. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  7. ^ Zahir Shah Sherazi (12 January 2015). "After deadly Taliban attack, Army Public School reopens today". Dawn. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d Ali Zafar (16 March 2015). "World needs to help us out of extremist darkness". CNN. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  9. ^ Shalvi Mangaokar (30 December 2014). "Ali Zafar cancels concert post Peshawar tragedy". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  10. ^ a b Anum Rehman Chagani (7 February 2015). "Ali Zafar tugs at heartstrings with 'Urain Ge'". Dawn. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  11. ^ a b
  12. ^ a b Madeeha Syed (1 February 2015). "Ali Zafar's Urain Gay: A song for Peshawar". Dawn. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  13. ^ Shahzeb Jillani (6 February 2015). "Pakistani star Ali Zafar sings for unity after Peshawar attack". BBC News. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  14. ^ "US Dollar (USD) To Pakistan Rupee (PKR) Exchange Rate History for 2015". Exchange-Rates. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  15. ^ Amna Khawar (13 February 2015). "141 of them". The Friday Times. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  16. ^ Zareen Muzaffar (5 May 2015). "Healing Pakistan's Wounds by Building 141 Schools for Peace". The Diplomat. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  17. ^ "'Urainge' rises to the occasion". The Express Tribune. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  18. ^ The Citizens Foundation (16 December 2016). "TCF has successfully established 141 school units". Retrieved 21 November 2025 – via Facebook.