Atif Aslam leaves concert midway to 'save families from any mishaps'

In 2017, Atif Aslam made headlines, not for his flawless singing but for being a knight in shining armour. He had called out a man in the crowd for harassing a woman while he was performing live. While the pop icon’s sense of responsibility and chivalry was rightly appreciated, the fact remains that such disturbing incidents continue to occur on a regular basis.

They only get reported if a celebrity responds to them or if a victim recounts the ordeal on social media. For the latter, such confessions also open the floodgates for victim-blaming and shaming.

In a deja vu of sorts, Atif recently called off his performance in Islamabad midway to save families from being harassed. Conflicting reports have surfaced on social media with eyewitnesses recalling different reasons as to what unfolded at the ill-fated event.

According to one, the crowd threw bottles at Atif, which prompted him to leave the stage halfway through his performance. According to some other sources, women were being groped and harassed by men in the audience. Many took to social media and called out the management for the poor security.

The 'eye-witness' account:

A user, who attended the first day of the much-advertised food festival, commented, "Pathetically organised Taste Plus festival in Islamabad. Advising people to not attend the rest of it because there's no point. Is no place safe anymore? Atif left midway because he couldn’t tolerate how the crowd was behaving."

Another one pointed out the same while advising everyone to not go to the next two days of the three-day event. "Islamabad Taste plus was the worst event I ever attended. Overall ill management, the worst crowd and stupid hosts plagued the show. Atif Aslam abandoned the show after a few songs. Not recommended for the remaining two days!" the tweep penned.

One more commented, "Just attended what was supposed to be a concert of Atif Aslam at TastePlus in Islamabad. I'm disgusted by the kind of vile behaviour the crowd had. Such a disappointment that a person with a global fan following had to leave before concluding."

A user went on to add, "Atif Aslam shortly after arriving at a concert in Islamabad, left midway after reports of multiple harassments within the crowd." Another revealed, "Atif Aslam was incredibly gracious and consoled a female victim, seen above as members of the crowd laughed on and threw rubbish at the stage."

Many called out the organisers for the mismanaged event. "The disorder and mismanagement of these people are such that yesterday was Atif Aslam's concert, they could not handle it properly. Atif Aslam had to leave his concert in Islamabad due to mismanagement.

Knight in the shining armour:

Many attendees sang praises for Atif's prompt reaction.

"Whatever happened last night in Islamabad's concert was absolutely pathetic. Atif Aslam winning hearts over and over again," one remarked, while another tweep added, "Just got to know that, another mismanaged event 'Islamabad Taste Festival' happened in Islamabad. Where singer Atif Aslam walked out of the event because some groups in the crowd were harassing girls. What the hell is happening!"

One user added, "I don't know what exactly happened in Islamabad but bro, so much respect for Atif Aslam. This man never fails to impress."

Another user lauded the Doori crooner and shared, "What a solid reaction. He walked out of a concert in Islamabad last night when a girl was harassed by some shameless idiots. I am sure that next time, in Atif's concert, no one will dare to do anything inappropriate."

The much-needed step:

An alleged screenshot of the singer responding to a fan after the ruckus has been making rounds on social media. In the said Instagram chat, a user apologised to the singer and wrote, "Sir, extremely sorry for tonight. There are some black sheeps who ruin it for everyone."

The user expressed disappointment from the attendees and added, "Please call out management, so this does not happen again."

To this, Atif replied, "Don't be sorry, I love Islamabad. At least, we saved some families from any mishap by stopping the event." The screenshot could not be verified independently.

Previous incidents:

This, however, isn't the first time video of Aslam interrupting his live performance has made rounds on social media. At a Karachi concert, the Pehli Nazar singer called out a group of men who were harassing a girl and told the alleged harassers. "Have you ever seen a girl? She could be your mother or a sister," the singer had said at that point. The venue was overcrowded and several girls reported being harassed.

Atif had then called security after seeing the attack. A video, too, was posted on Twitter which showed the guards pulling the girl by the arms from the crowd and taking her to the stage.

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