In a sign of how routine hunting down and killing of militants by unmanned CIA planes has leached into popular imagination in Pakistan, drones have been given a starring role in a new romantic song.
The track, which is proving popular in the largely Pashtun city of Peshawar, is faithful to standard themes of the genre. The lyrics mention rosebuds and wine. Then the repeated chorus: “My gaze is as fatal as a drone attack”.
The hit for singer Sitara Younis follows her success last year with a song that warns a man to keep his distance: “Don’t chase me, I’m an illusion, a suicide bomb.” Khalid Shah Jilani, the part-time lyricist who penned the song said singers and poets are increasingly taking inspiration from the situation in their provinces.
Younis’s energetic performance had been racking up a number of hits on YouTube. Maas Khan Wesal, a composer, said the song had proved popular because it reflected the lives of Pashtu speakers on both sides of the border.