Legendary classical singer Ustad Fateh Ali Khan passes away

Prominent classical vocalist Ustad Fateh Ali Khan passed away here on Wednesday in Islamabad. He was 81. Ustad Bade Fateh Ali Khan was suffering from lung disease.

According to local media reports, the 82-year-old singer was suffering from a lungs disease and was under treatment from the past 10 days in PIMS Hospital. The body of late Ustad Fateh will be shifted to Lahore, where he will be laid to rest.

Ustad Fateh Ali was father of Rustam Fateh Ali and Sultan Ali Khan and uncle of Asad Amanat and Shafqat Amanat. He was elder brother of Ustad Hamid Ali Khan.

Born in 1935 in Patiala, he (at the age of 12) and his elder brother Amanat Ali Khan (at the age of 14) became the Maharaja's chosen singers, at his darbar or court. Being paid the handsome amount of Rs100 per month in the year 1946, he grew up in an environment where music was valued.

He gained fame not only in Pakistan but from every part of the world.