ISLAMABAD: A charged crowd at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport assaulted singer-turned-evangelist Junaid Jamshed, it emerged late Saturday night. A disturbing video of the attack made the rounds on social media.

A handful of people chanted slogans against the preacher, claiming he had committed blasphemy, and lunged at him. They struck several blows and then momentarily released Jamshed, only to attack him again.

"We have been looking for you," one male voice is heard saying in the footage.

"Hit him, him him," they shouted.

Visibly shaken, Jamshed maintained silence for the most part and offered the crowd to "talk" as the men confronted him. Jamshed then retreated into the airport's arrival lounge.

Many took to social media to condemn the attack on Jamshed.

Read: Junaid Jamshed booked for blasphemy

The episode comes over a year after a controversy that pushed Jamshed into hiding, as he became the target of the wrath of right-wing groups over blasphemy allegations. He later offered a public apology in which he said he was "accepting his mistake" and asked for forgiveness.

The blasphemy case against him was registered in December 2014 on the directives of a district and sessions court. Jamshed was booked over one of his televised sermons that was thought to contain blasphemous remarks about a wife of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).

The case had been registered on a complaint of Mobin Qadri, a leader of the Sunni Tehreek, at the Risala police station under Sections 295-C (use of derogatory remarks in respect of the Holy Prophet) and 298-A (use of derogatory remarks etc in respect of Holy Personage) of the Pakistan Penal Code, police said at the time.

Qadri had moved an application in the court seeking registration of a blasphemy case against Jamshed for allegedly making blasphemous remarks about the Holy Prophet and his wife Hazrat Ayesha (RA).

Jamshed later released a video message in which he apologised for his remarks and asked for forgiveness.

Over the years, Jamshed has gathered a massive following as a preacher, also earning a spot in popular prime time shows during the month of Ramazan.

He has also launched a line of clothing by the name 'J.', a brand that takes pride in selling what it calls modest women's clothing and without using models for advertisement.

Opinion

Editorial

UAE’s Opec exit
30 Apr, 2026

UAE’s Opec exit

THE UAE’s exit from Opec is another sign of the major geopolitical shifts that are reshaping the global order. One...
Uncertain recovery
30 Apr, 2026

Uncertain recovery

PAKISTAN’S growth projections for the current fiscal present a cautiously hopeful picture, though geopolitical...
Police ‘encounters’
30 Apr, 2026

Police ‘encounters’

THE killing of nine suspects by Punjab’s Crime Control Department across Lahore, Sahiwal and Toba Tek Singh ...
Growth to stability
Updated 29 Apr, 2026

Growth to stability

THE State Bank’s decision to raise its key policy rate by 100 basis points to 11.5pc signals a shift in priorities...
Constitutional order
29 Apr, 2026

Constitutional order

FOLLOWING the passage of the 26th and 27th Amendments, in 2024 and 2025 respectively, jurists and members of the...
Protecting childhood
29 Apr, 2026

Protecting childhood

AN important victory for child protection was secured on Monday with the Punjab Assembly’s passage of the Child...