WASHINGTON-Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Masood Khan, Monday con­ferred the President’s Pride of Per­formance medal on Grammy award winner Urooj Aftab, an internationally recognised Pakistani-American vocal­ist, music composer and producer.

Ms Aftab, 38, was the first Pakistani woman to ever win a Grammy in 2022, a major annual American entertainment award. She sang Hafeez Hoshiarpuri’s Ghazal , “Mohabbat Karne Wale Kam Na Honge...” , in the Best Global Performance category. “In recognition of her outstand­ing contribution in promoting Pakistani music tradition in the United States and across the globe, the President of the Is­lamic Republic of Pakistan has conferred on Ms Urooj Aftab the President’s Pride of Performance Award,” said the citation read at an investiture held on the occa­sion of Pakistan’s Independence Day. Ambassador Masood Khan underscored her role in bringing the people of two countries closer to each other through the power of music, saying that diploma­cy and interstate relations were all about perceptions and Ms Aftab has helped change the perception of Pakistan. “Paki­stanis loves music,” the Ambassador said.

Thanking the Government of Pakistan, Ms Aftab said that it was a good moment to acknowledge that literature, poetry and music have been an “integral part of our identity as Pakistanis”.

Terming the conferment of the award upon her as a matter of pride and a source of inspiration for other female artists of the country, she said that it was a bright day for Pakistani female musicians. On the occasion, Ms Aftab also thanked and paid tribute to legendary female Paki­stani singers, from Mukhtar Begum to Abida Parveen. “I don’t think I would be standing here if it wasn’t for them,” she said. She also thanked her parents for their continued support to her.