Haseena Mumtaz

Haseena Mumtaz was the celebrated performing name of Haseena Khanum, a pioneering Seraiki folk singer of Radio Pakistan, and her longtime singing partner Mumtaz Khanum. Haseena Khanum was born in Dera Nawab Sahib, in the Ahmedpur East area of Bahawalpur District, Punjab, and began singing at a young age, first recording for Radio Pakistan Multan before joining the newly launched Radio Pakistan Bahawalpur station, with which she remained associated for most of her career.

Haseena Mumtaz, Haseena Khanum and Mumtaz Khanum became one of the most beloved duet acts in Seraiki radio history, performing as “Haseena Mumtaz” across countless Radio Pakistan broadcasts and live functions in Bahawalpur and the wider Seraiki-speaking belt of South Punjab. Their repertoire included Seraiki folk songs, Kafis of the Sufi poet Khwaja Ghulam Farid, and works of local poets, delivered in the warm, ornamented duet style that made their performances instantly recognisable to radio audiences.

Among their most enduring recordings are “Eiha Kajlay Wali Akh Mastani Yaar Di,” “Kaddan Walso Sohna Sanwla” and “Rani Pathani,” songs so popular that they were later re-recorded by other singers, a testament to the pair’s lasting influence on Seraiki folk music. Haseena Khanum was honoured as one of the pioneer artists of Radio Pakistan and received recognition for her contribution to Seraiki-language singing.

In her later years, Haseena Khanum was diagnosed with paralysis and was bed-ridden for roughly five years before her passing in Bahawalpur in November 2014, at around 65 years of age. Her singing partner, Mumtaz Khanum, had died a few years earlier. Their duets remain preserved in the archives of Radio Pakistan Bahawalpur and Pakistan’s Lok Virsa heritage institute.