“Time to plan your Pakistan tour, Zayn Malik!” says Jane Marriott

British pop singer Zayn Malik was invited to tour Pakistan after he released Urdu song in collaboration with Pakistani band ‘Aur’.

“Time to plan your Pakistan tour, Zayn Malik! Loving this UK-Pakistan Urdu collaboration with Aur,” UK High Commissioner to Pakistan Jane Marriott wrote on her X handle.

British heartthrob Zayn Malik, who is known to the world for his melodious vocals in English, tested his singing mettle by crooning an Urdu language love song.

Collaborating with the Pakistani band “Aur”, Zayn features in the remake of their popular hit “Tu Hai Kahan” which has more than 95 million views on YouTube.

However, the remake too, has received significant praise from fans as the song has garnered more than 3.5 million views on the video-sharing platform.

Expressing his views on his experience of singing Urdu lyrics, the 31-year-old — a former member of the popular boy band One Direction — told BBC in an interview that he loved the song and hoped that fans would love the collaboration after he brought some of himself to the rendition.

Out Now! Tu Hai Kahan (feat. ZAYN)
Link in bio. pic.twitter.com/nI1KmU1oPZ

— AUR (@AURmusic__) January 12, 2024

Pakistani band Aur described working with Malik on a single in Urdu as “a dream come true”.

“Previously we only had a Pakistani audience, now we have people from the UK, Brazil, China… so it feels very good,” bandmate Raffey Anwar told BBC.

This is not the first time Zayn has showcased his vocals in Urdu, as the British singer — who rose to fame after his music career kicked off via One Direction following his appearance on the British TV music competition “The X Factor” in 2010 — previously included Urdu lyrics in his track “Tightrope”, from his 2021 album “Nobody is Listening”.

The collaboration cannot be termed unexpected as the British singer — who was born and raised in Bradford — has Pakistani roots as his father immigrated to the UK from the South Asian nation.