Fans of the Pakistani pop-rock band Strings are heartbroken. On Thursday, March 25, the band’s members, Bilal Maqsood and Faisal Kapadia, posted a farewell note on social media announcing their split after 33 years. Strings also composed songs for Bollywood films such as ‘Zinda’ and ‘John Day’.

The band has once again shocked their fans with the news of their split. Their statement on Instagram read, “Hey guys. This post is a bit different from the usual. We have decided that today, 25/03/2021, is the day we graciously get to conclude STRINGS. The past 33 years have been incredible for both of us. It’s so rare to have the chance to be able to do things like this and we are infinitely grateful to all of our fans for making it possible. We hope you found it worthwhile as well. While the band technically may not be together anymore, both of us share an inseparable bond that will connect us no matter where life takes us. Thank you so much for everything (sic).”

Thus the iconic band from Karachi Strings has gone on the record to state that band members have gone their separate ways. The group was integral to the new millenium of Pakistani and South Asian music. Strings pioneered a rooted rock genre. Rock that wasn't imitative of the West but intuitive to the East. Rock that a kid in Karachi or Hyderabad could relate to.

In their initial years, Strings was composed of Bilal Maqsood, Faisal Kapadia, Rafiq Ali, and Kareem Bhoy and rode the pop wave. The band wove into their fabric the lyrics of Bilal's father, Anwar Maqsood, who hailed from Hyderabad and studied in Gulbarga (both now in India). After a split in 1992, the band returned to the Pakistani music scene in 2000 with a different line-up and a radically different sound headed mainly by Bilal and Faisal who gave a fresh and kicking new sound that was lapped up by their fans.

They were stars in the making from the very start they returned on the scene. The song Sar Kiya Yeh Pahaar not only became a chartbuster within Pakistan, but also broke the borders between frequencies and made its way to Indian clubs and hearts.

The later band formation's comeback song the guitar frenzied Duur, sent chill down spines even today. The lyrics that go “Duur... saajana... duuur / Us Kay Bina Mera Jeevan Jesay Koi Soona Gaon" (Far.. Beloved.. Far / Without them, my life is like a bleak and deserted village". Such local lyrics and emotions are what made Strings a global cult figure. Their craze in India peaked when they collaborated with the evergreen Euphoria. Jeet Lo Dil came out of this and was used in the Pakistani tour by the Indian Cricket team. The group even gave an album song for the 2007 crime film ‘Shootout At Lokhandwala’. Hindi film actor John Abraham co-produced their fifth studio album 'Koi Aane Wala Hai'.