Jawad Ahmad

Jawad Ahmed is a Pakistani pop singer and musician turned politician.

Jawad Ahmed is currently chairman of Barabri Party Pakistan, a leftist party.

Early life and education
Jawad Ahmad was born on 29 September 1970 in Lahore, Punjab into a Kashmiri family who immigrated to Pakistan after independence, with both his parents being college professors teaching Political Science. His father Tauqeer Ahmad Shaikh, who was a professor at the Government College University, Lahore, passed away in November 2023, while Jawad has three siblings, a sister and two brothers.

Jawad Ahmad received a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. During his student days at the UET, he was part of many of its societies, including the music society and the literature society.

Jupiters with Ali Azmat
While in university, he used to participate in the musical and literary societies of the university. He later became a member of Lahore-based the pop musical band, Jupiters, along with another famous pop singer, Ali Azmat. This musical group later disbanded and Jawad Ahmad decided to launch his solo career.

Solo career
Jawad got fame with his solo song, Allah Meray Dil Kay Ander, which showcased his fondness for Sufism.

While he has received no formal education in music, most of his songs are written and composed by him. He draws inspiration from a diverse range of musical personalities such as Ustad Amanat Ali Khan, Mehdi Hassan, Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, Tufail Niazi, Pathanay Khan, Hamid Ali Bela, Madam Noor Jehan, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Kishore Kumar, Eagles, Elvis Presley, Mohammed Rafi.

So far, Jawad Ahmad has established his presence in the music industry through three solo albums, and several drama OSTs.

Political career
In May 2017, Jawad launched his leftist Barabri political party. The party fielded 14 candidates in the 2018 elections, with Jawad himself contesting 3 seats against the chiefs of the three major political parties in the country - Imran Khan of PTI, Shahbaz Sharif of PML-N, and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of PPP. The party did not win any seats.

Ahead of the 2024 elections, his party was delisted for failing to conduct intra-party elections and was not eligible to contest any seat.

Social work
In 2002, he was appointed as the ambassador of Pakistan for the eradication of polio by Pakistan's Ministry of Health and the UNICEF. British Council Beyond Borders project, awareness regarding the dangers of drug addiction. In this regard, he has used his talent to produce a song called Tum Abhi To Aa Kar accompanied by a video to portray the social impact on an individual of drug intake. He sang another social awareness song Taaleem Sub Kay Liey for a project of US aid.

Another turf is a program against illiteracy, which he has been exploring. In conjunction with this, he is running ten schools in the least developed areas of Pakistan under the Taleem for All program.

Television work
Jawad Ahmed has done hosting for television and has performed for morale boosting of Pakistani soldiers. He also did the documentary series Har Dam Tayyar for the Pakistan Armed Forces in 2002 including:
 * Sons of the Soil for Pakistan Army
 * Power of the Sea for Pakistan Navy
 * Flying Tigers for Pakistan Air Force

Filmography

 * Pakistani film Moosa Khan (2001) (music and lyrics by Jawad Ahmad)
 * Pakistani film Mein Ek Din Laut Kay Aaoon Ga (2007) (music and lyrics by Jawad Ahmad)
 * Pakistani and Indian joint-venture film Virsa (2010) (music arranged by Jawad Ahmad)