Profile

Arif Khan was born in Lahore, Pakistan. His late father Abdul Hafeez Khan was a senior civil servant and recipient of Pakistan’s highest civil award, ‘Tamgha-e-Khidmat’, who dedicated his life and works to the Pakistan Railways (producing around 27 books and reports on the latter). Arif’s late paternal grandfather Abdur Rehman Khan was one of the founding members of Khaksar Tehrik. Arif himself attended University in Pakistan and achieved gold medals (obtaining first positions) in both his Post Graduate Diploma in Cost and Management Accounting and Master of Commerce in Marketing. He completed his higher education in London UK, where he is now settled, and kept up his reputation by securing first position again in his Master of Business Administration.

Arif’s quest to become well educated was by no means a hindrance to his musical career. As a child Arif enjoyed listening to songs sung by the late Indian playback singer Mukesh and was particularly struck by the profound emotion in his voice. He became such a doting fan that he felt inspired to sing. His early audiences comprised of friends and relatives, and the few who acknowledged the depth and potential of his singing talents urged him to learn music, which he did with full fervour with I M K Lodhi and Master Sharf Uddin. Arif has performed on stage and appeared on TV shows and his album ‘Mukesh Ki Yaad Mein’ Vol.1 was released in 2009.