Qawwal booked over ‘Prisoner 804’ song at Lahore cultural event

A case has been registered against qawwal Faraz Khan for singing a song linked to “Prisoner 804” during a government-backed musical night at Lahore’s Shalimar Gardens, while the singer has secured interim bail, police and court officials said.

An additional sessions judge granted Faraz Khan interim bail until Jan. 13. The qawwal, whose full name is Faraz Amjad, appeared before the court and said he would never have sung the song had he known a criminal case would be registered. “If I had known that singing this song would lead to a case, I would never have sung it,” he told the court.

According to the police report, the World City of Lahore Authority organised a music and cultural night at Shalimar Gardens, where Faraz Khan and fellow performers presented qawwali. During the programme, the singer performed a song associated with “Adiala Jail prisoner 804”, prompting authorities to register an FIR against him.

The FIR was lodged at Shalimar police station on the complaint of Zamir, in-charge of Shalimar Gardens, and includes various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code.

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In the FIR registered at Baghbanpura police station, the complainant said the event, titled “Chandni Raatain”, was a purely cultural programme aimed at promoting culture, music and harmony. It clearly barred political content or slogans.

The complainant stated that on Feb. 3, during the qawwali night, Faraz Khan and his fellow performers “deliberately and without permission sang a politically provocative song with the lyrics ‘Adiala Jail Qaidy 804’,” after which the administration stopped the performance.

The FIR said the song led to excitement among the crowd, raised fears of disturbance to public order, undermined the non-political and cultural purpose of the event, and caused “serious damage to the credibility, neutrality and dignity of a government institution”.

It further said Faraz Khan’s act was “highly irresponsible, condemnable and beyond legal limits”, describing it as an attempt to incite the public, disrupt public order and make a state institution controversial, which it said was a punishable offence.

Faraz Khan has maintained that he sang the song on audience demand but was still booked.

The event at Shalimar Gardens was open to the public. The incident has raised questions about rules governing cultural programmes and has triggered fresh debate over artistic expression.

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Police said an investigation has been launched and the matter is being examined from different angles in accordance with the law.

The case adds to a growing list of actions against artists and content creators over work deemed controversial.

In August 2024, YouTuber Aun Ali Khosa was reportedly picked up from his Lahore residence after releasing a parody video titled “Bill Bill Pakistan” that criticised the government. His whereabouts remained unknown for days despite a Lahore High Court order for his recovery.

After Khosa’s disappearance, Amnesty International called on the government to “promptly” disclose his whereabouts and ensure his safe return.

Similarly, in May 2024, Kashmiri poet Ahmad Farhad went missing from his residence after posting poetry critical of the establishment on social media. The case led Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani of the Islamabad High Court to summon the defence secretary and order police to seek statements from intelligence officials.

The court observed that alleged officials were sending messages while claiming the person was not in their custody, questioning whether the country would be run by spy agencies or according to the law.