Ghazal singer Mehdi Hassan in ICU serious put on a ventilator doctors condition is improving

Even as Mehdi Hassan's birth village Luna in Rajasthan prays for the good health and long life of the ghazal maestro, his doctor says he is "improving" and "responding" to treatment.

He said that the singer is not on a ventilator and is currently under treatment at the Special Care Unit of the Agha Khan University Hospital in Karachi.

Earlier there were reports that the singer is critical and on a ventilator following respiratory problems.

The 84-year-old Hassan has been ill for the last few years due to a serious lung condition that has led to complications and breathing problems.

The Shahenshah-e-Ghazal, who was born into a family of traditional musicians at Luna village in Rajasthan in 1927, and the voice behind evergreen ghazals like Ab Ke Hum Bichde, Patta Patta Boota Boota, Yeh Dhuan, Woh Dilnawaz, Magghan Baat and Arz-E-Nyaz, had recently lost his voice due to his illness.

The singer's son Arif said his father always wanted to visit India for treatment but doctors ruled out any travel due to his ill-health. Facing a cash crunch, the family had appealed to the Pakistan government for help.

The Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and other government officials have visited the legendary singer at his residence in recent times but Asif said financial help had been slow in coming from the government.

Hassan remains a hugely popular ghazal singer in the Indian sub-continent though he cut back on his performances in the late 80s due to illness.