Saboor Aly, Yasir Hussain and others called out for violating SOPs

Saboor Aly, Yasir Hussain, Iqra Aziz and others got together for a selfie without keeping social distancing in mind

Over the weekend, multiple videos and pictures of a star-studded wedding went viral on social media. It was the ceremony of industry favourite Umair Qazi that became the talk of the town when a plethora of celebs made an appearance there.

While the extravagant nuptials went viral, videos and pictures from the Mehendi caused a bit of a ruckus on Twitter and Instagram. Celebs such as Saboor Aly, Sajal Aly, Ahad Raza Mir, Yasir Hussain, Iqra Aziz, Zara Noor Abbas, Asad Siddiqui, Urwa Hocane, Kinza Hashmi and others could be seen having a good time grooving to the music and cosying up for selfies.

 

 

 

 

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However, many called out the stars for not following SOPs as the third wave of Covid-19 is on a high.

National COVID positivity rate in Pakistan today is 10%, 67 people have succumbed to death in last 24 hours, and 2842 people are critically ill. A medical emergency has been declared at-least in Lahore.
Meanwhile Pakistanis: pic.twitter.com/O1uPhtSnrm

— Urooj (@uroojtarar) March 27, 2021

When reached out, Hussain shared they were following the SOPs to the tee and had only taken off the masks for the pictures.

"Everyone you see in that viral picture, well, we all know each other very well. We were following all the SOPs, we were wearing masks before the picture was taken. We only took it off for the photo," the Jhooti star told The Express Tribune. "We were also having food as the buffet set up could be seen in the said picture, as well as plates. We cannot eat with our masks on."

He went on to add that weddings were still allowed by the government. "People are getting married, the restaurants are also open. Even flights are full. But when people see celebs having fun, there's an outrage on social media…”

Responding to the flak, the Lahore Se Aagay star commented that he concurred with the outrage people are feeling but SOPs aren't only limited to weddings. "I do agree with them," he said. "I will be more careful the next time but at the same time, the government should ensure compliance of SOPs better. Weddings should be stopped, social distancing to be maintained on flights and otherwise too."

The Express Tribune has reached out to other celebs as well and are currently awaiting a response.

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