A local court in Pakistan on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for Hindi Medium star Saba Qamar in a case registered against her and others for shooting a ‘dance video’ at a historical mosque in Lahore.
Lahore’s magisterial court issued the bailable warrants for Qamar and singer Bilal Saeed for constantly avoiding the court hearings. The court adjourned the hearing till 6 October.
Lahore police last year registered a case against Qamar and Saeed under section 295 of the Pakistan Penal Code for alleged ‘desecration’ of Masjid Wazir Khan in the old city of Lahore. According to the FIR, both actors had trampled upon the sanctity of the mosque by shooting a dance video, and this act also sparked an outrage among the people of Pakistan.
The Punjab government had also sacked two senior officers in connection with violation of the mosque’s sanctity.
Qamar and Saeed apologised for their actions after receiving widespread condemnation and even death threats on social media.
Qamar said, “It was the music video featuring a Nikah (marriage) scene. It was neither shot with any sort of playback music nor has it been edited to the music track.”
Qamar, who has won praise for his efforts in Bollywood films, also did a biopic of social media sensation Qandeel Baloch. For her “un-Islamic” behaviour, she received death threats on social media. She was threatened on social media that she could face the same fate as Qandeel Baloch, who was killed in 2016 for ‘disgracing the family honour.’
Various religious groups staged demonstrations in the city, demanding that the artist couple be punished harshly for their alleged wrongdoing.
