Video of the day: Pakistan, protesting with (a) rock

AlJazeera's show asks Pakistani revolutionist bands whether music can really push back extremism. Thumbs up!

Most nations of the world protest against corruption, violence and extremism by pelting rocks on the streets, but Pakistan is now mining an additional avenue – rock music.

The phenomenon is not new. We had poets like Habib Jalib as well as bands like Junoon who took music and entertainment to a new level to expose what people generally hesitate in discussing. But in a country like Pakistan, can protests through music really work?

This was the question raised in AlJazeera’s show The Stream which took onboard Basim Usmani from The Kominas as the main guest.

The show highlighted the rising wave of protests through rock music in a country which is considered by the world to have been taken over by the Taliban.

In the show, the Pakistani band Laal, for the first time, aired the video of their song called Deshatgardi Murdabad as Taimoor Rehman from the band thought it was too controversial to be released in Pakistan.

Ali Aftab Saeed from the new Pakistani band Baygairat Brigade also joined in the conversation via online streaming to share his comments on the increasing importance of the role music plays in the Pakistani society.

Usmani ended the show with his comment: “Music is really hard to ignore.”

Video rating: Double thumbs up for having the courage to speak up through a universal language.

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