Forms of Pakistani Music

Like most other classical musical traditions, Pakistani Classical Music is only a small, though very influential, part of Pakistani Music. Folk music has been a part of Pakistani society for centuries and perhaps predate the evolution of classical music. In the 20th century, film music has been the most popular form of music in Pakistan and continues to outsell all other forms of music by a very large margin. Folk music, Qawalies (devotional music) and Ghazals also have large following. Ironically, at least till recently, the so called "pop" music (the word used, no doubt, by people who don't know pop is short for popular) based on western music, has the least following.