Dawn Images

Pakistani metal band Naqaabposh released a new song on Monday titled ‘Qabza’ and dedicated it to the people of Gaza. The band is going to donate all streaming proceeds from the song to relief efforts in Gaza city.

The lyric video for ‘Qabza’ features footage from the war-torn Gaza strip as well as videos from pro-Palestine protests around the world. The footage includes videos of Palestinians fighting back against the Israeli military with rocks and bottles, and starving children crying out for food.

Israel’s intensified war on Gaza, which began shortly after October 7, 2023, has so far claimed at least 67,000 lives, including women and children. In August, the UN declared there is a famine in Gaza and its surrounding areas. Israel has blocked most aid from entering Gaza as it continues to bomb the area.

The song, written and composed by Ammar Khaled and Hasan Tanveer, highlights the resistance, with lyrics about breaking free from one’s confines and how powerful people’s voices are.

The band, comprised of duo with bassist Adeel Tahir, say they are currently in talks with the Al Khidmat Foundation regarding the donations. They also have they have GoFundMe links from verified Palestinian accounts in the description of the video on YouTube.

The band said they started making music together back in 2017 with their first release, ‘Bheekh’, followed by ‘Khaamosh Dakait’ in 2019 and a live album in 2021. “We’ve always touched upon social issues and there is no graver issue in the world right now than the plight of the people of Gaza, who have sadly been abandoned by the entire world. The song was written almost a year back and has been in production since then, along with a full-length album,” said Khaled.

They felt that much bigger artists in Pakistan were shying away from speaking about Gaza. “Everyone may have their own reasons but to us it just felt wrong. We chose to release it today [Monday] as tomorrow marks two years since Israel’s illegal occupation of Gaza,” he told Images. “This was our way of contributing a voice to the cause and we hope other musicians may follow suit.”

The video for ‘Qabza’ is edited in a vertical, mobile-friendly format, with no footage of the musicians. This was a conscious decision as they “did not want to take anything away from the issue”. “The footage in the video also reflects how unfair this war really is. The IDF march in with their guns and bombs, destroying innocent civilian shelters, hospitals and refugee camps while the brave Palestinians fend them off with sticks and stones and pure courage,” Khaled explained.

The vertical format was also intentional as the band thought it may have a better chance of reaching more people, given that they say they are already facing shadow-bans from Meta and Google over the content of the videos.