Singer and Pakistan Idol judge Bilal Maqsood has hinted at the show’s comeback, sharing a post on his Instagram with the caption “Are You Ready.”
Maqsood, a founding member of the band Strings, has served as one of the judges on Pakistan Idol’s second season alongside Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Zeb Bangash and Fawad Khan.
Since the season finale was never aired, his post appears to signal that the show is preparing to return and complete its unfinished second edition.
His message comes shortly after fellow judge Zeb Bangash confirmed that Pakistan Idol will be returning soon, following the show’s surprise halt earlier this year.
Bangash posted an earlier reel of herself in the makeup room on her Instagram story on Tuesday, alongside a collage of pictures from the programme’s set and a message for fans.
“Our Pakistan Idol bulbuls are back and so are we,” the singer wrote, adding that the show would be coming to fans soon. “Thank you all for the love and for missing us so much. We missed you too,” she said.
Bangash had earlier appeared to hint at the show’s return when she responded to a comment on the same reel, posted on July 20, asking if the programme was “coming back.”
At the time, she replied only with a smiling emoji.
The show’s second season was left unfinished in a twist that felt like a cruel pre-April Fools Day joke, with fans left hanging just as they were set to find out which contestant would take home the title.
The finale was abruptly postponed on March 31, with organisers citing “regional tensions rising and calls for national austerity.”
The programme had been set to return to television after a break for Ramazan, with the final round “just weeks away,” when organisers said it “did not feel right” to continue a celebration at such a scale as violence in the region escalated.
Addressing the show’s contestants at the time, the announcement said that their journey on the show was “not over” and their moment to shine was “not lost. It is simply waiting.”
It remains unclear exactly when the finale of Pakistan Idol will air. The show’s producers and the rest of the judging panel have not yet made any public comments on its return.
