Khurram Waqar (; born 23 July 1975) is a Pakistani guitarist and content creator. He is a member of the bands "Brothers in Arms", and "KW and the Facedown Movement". He also launched a joint initiative called the "Guitar Collective". In 2019, KW and The Facedown Movement won Rock Song of the Year for their single "Todi the Smoker" at the Virtuoso International Music Awards (VIMA).'
In 2010, Waqar's band Qayaas won Best Rock Band (Pakistan) at the Rolling Stones-Jack Daniel's Annual Music Awards.
Waqar was born on July 23, 1975, into a Punjabi Muslim Jat family and was raised in Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad. His father is a retired bureaucrat and his mother is a homemaker.
Waqar is a member of Dawn in the Dark, a San Francisco-based musical project formed with his wife, Heather. They released their debut album, Can't Count Me Out, on September 19, 2025, coinciding with their wedding anniversary.
Brothers in Arms is an Indian-Pakistani-American rock band, consisting of three artists:
The band collaborated remotely from their respective countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing the belief that music transcends national boundaries. Their first single, "Khuda Kay Bandey", was released on July 14, 2022..
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Waqar launched Guitar Collective, an initiative for holding online discussions around the members' experiences as musicians.
The first instrumental from the project, "I'll Be with You", was released in December 2018. The recording was independently produced by Waqar, who oversaw songwriting, performance, and video production.
KW and the Facedown Movement is a rock band founded in 2014, with Waqar serving as guitarist, songwriter, and producer, accompanied by Solomon and Kami on the vocals and drums, respectively. Their song "Todi, the Smoker" won Rock Song of the Year at the 2019 Virtuoso International Music Awards, competing against bands from multiple Asian countries.
In June 2019, the band released its debut EP, Facedown. It features the following original tracks:
Music videos were released for the singles "Bend It," "Time," and "Todi the Smoker."
The EP marked the first instance of a Pakistani band having its music mastered by Ryan Smith and Ted Jensen of Sterling Studio, New York City.
Bazm-e-Rang is a musical project curated by Sarang Latif and Abida Parveen, focusing on contemporary interpretations of Sufi poetry.
In 2018, Waqar collaborated with Dubai-based musician Nikhil Raj Uzgare, vocalist of the rock band Point of View. The collaboration resulted in the single "Baatein".
Waqar collaborated with Sarangi player Taimur Khan and tabla player Sarfaraz Khan on interpretations of classical Raags, presented through live online performances.
The first band Khurram was in was "Fantazia" with schoolmates and close friends Suhaib Kiani, Taimur Khan and Sabih Zaman. The band performed both covers and original music at several gigs held in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
In Lahore, Khurram was part of various rock bands. Initially, he played a few gigs with Coven, the band, when their guitarist Hamza Jafri left for London. During this time, he befriended Ali Noor, Ali Jafri, and Abid Khan. He briefly played with "Entity" (later Entity Paradigm), featuring Ahmad Ali Butt, Qasim Khan, and Salman Albert, before branching off with Qasim to form kNuMb.
kNuMb played a mix of guitar instrumentals and original songs in gigs around the country. In 2001, Khurram left for the US to pursue his graduate studies.
While in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States to pursue his master's degree in Information Systems Management, Khurram formed an instrumental band, "Cocytus," with a group of fellow CMU students. The band was multicultural and multi-ethnic, with Rodrigo Escobar, the bassist, hailing from Chile; Frank Boucamp, the rhythm guitarist, from Germany; and Ammar, the drummer, an American of Indian origin.
Upon his return from the U.S., kNuMb reunited with Khurram on the lead guitars, Qasim on vocals, Faraz on bass, Abdul Ahad on rhythms, and Sharjeel on drums, to be later replaced by Kami. kNuMb performed concerts in Islamabad and Lahore. kNuMb's hallmark became their mixed set of instrumentals as well as originals like Anjaani Rahain, Lamhe, and Majhi, while their covers of Audioslave were particularly well-liked. Around this time, a couple of Steve Vai-Joe Satriani-inspired G3 concerts were arranged by fans, in which Khurram performed alongside eminent guitarists like Faraz Anwar, Sarmad Ghafoor, and Zeejah Fazli.
In 2008, Khurram formed the rock band Qayaas with Umair Jaswal on vocals. The band received Best Rock Band (Pakistan) award at the 2010 Rolling Stone-Jack Daniels annual rock awards. In 2012, their song "Charkha Naulakha" featured in Coke Studio Pakistan. The song also featured in a special limited-edition CD of "Coke Studio's Greatest Hits."
Their debut album, Uss Paar, featuring 13 original songs, was released in 2011 to critical acclaim. In 2013 the band also contributed three songs to the soundtrack of Waar, the highest-grossing Pakistani film at the time. Qayaas also composed the single "Vadero Pajero" for the animated show Burka Avengers.
In 2014, the band parted ways.