The Pahari languages (from पहाड़ी (Devanagari) from pahar 'mountain') are a geographic group of Indic languages spoken in the lower ranges of the Himalayas, from Nepal in the east to the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir in the west.

The Pahari languages fall into three groups:

Though traditionally considered Pahari, and often Hindi or Punjabi, they are more closely related to each other than to other Indic languages. In Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, and other surrounding areas, it is the same as Dogri. Both words, Pahari and Dogri, are used alternatively as well. Eastern and Central Pahari has been placed together as the Northern zone of Indic, with Western Pahari in the Northwestern zone along with Punjabi and related languages. The variation in Pahari languages is due to influence of specific religion, dominating language and culture. Nearly 17 to 20 percent of Jammu and Kashmir (both sides of Loc) speaks Parahi language which resembles more to Punjabi or Hindi. It is considered as a dialect of Punjabi or other dominating languages of region.

Malika Pukhraj (Urdu: ملكہ پکھراج ) (b1912 - 2004) was a highly popular Ghazal and folk singer of Pakistan. She was generally called as "Malika" meaning "The Queen." She is extremely popular for her rendition of Hafeez Jalandhri's song, Abhi to main jawan hoon ("I am still youthful"), which is enjoyed by millions not only in Pakistan, but also in India. Her popular numbers were,Lo phir basant aaya and Quli Qutub's Piya baaj piyale piya jaye na and Faiz Ahmed Faiz's Mere qatil mere dildar mere paas raho.

Malika Pukhraj, was born in village Mirpur, on the banks of the River Akhnoor, 16 miles from Jammu, British India, and as she grew up her mother moved to Rajinder Bazar, Kanak Mandi area of Jammu, where she spent early years of her life. She was given the name "Malika" at birth, by 'Majzoob', 'Baba Roti Ram, a spiritualist, in Akhnoor area, and named Pukhraj by her Aunt

Malika Pukhraj received her training from Ustad Ali Baksh Kasuri, father of legendary singer Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.