Hania Aamir’s ‘Pablo’ seems to have found a fan in an unexpected place, with her rumoured ex Asim Azhar playing the song at the end of a UK concert and singing along to it.

Azhar, who is currently on a tour of the UK, played Aamir’s debut single towards the end of his concert, joining in as the song played. The moment comes after the singer had already praised ‘Pablo’ in a recent interview with BBC Asian Network, calling it a “banger”.

“She’s an amazing artist and I relate to her with the expressiveness and I’m so excited to see this side of her as an artist,” Azhar said while discussing Aamir’s entry into music.

The ‘REGARDLESS’ singer also pushed back against the way Pakistani listeners approach new music, saying that people should treat songs as a form of expression instead of judging them as though they were contestants on Pakistan Idol.

“Yeah, she’s an actress, but she dropped this song too. For me, I conceived it as, ‘Okay, nice.’ She’s an artist. She’s writing. She’s writing her feelings. She’s expressing how she feels,” he said.

Azhar also singled out the lyrics, which Aamir wrote herself, and said that he found the way she addressed controversies through the song particularly effective. “I think each and every line addresses a major controversy just in one-liners. I think that’s very smart,” he said.

His comments drew plenty of attention online, with some listeners agreeing with his take on the song and praising him for recognising what they saw as its message of expression and empowerment.

One reaction described him as someone who had “clocked everything”, while another said that the song was “relatable” and welcomed the prospect of seeing more women enter music.

Others praised Azhar for not comparing Aamir with established singers, with one commenter calling his response “sensible”. Another wrote, “That’s a man,” while a separate reaction joked, “She’s not coming back.”

Not everyone agreed with the praise, however. One commenter questioned whether Azhar playing the song on a reel was enough to establish that it was a “banger”, while another simply wrote, “THIS WAS MUCH NEEDED.”

Azhar also stated during the interview that he had recently put ‘Pablo’ on his reel, adding that he thought it was “so sick”.

Beyond praising Aamir’s work, Azhar said he wanted to see more Pakistani women in pop music and hoped ‘Pablo’ could encourage others to enter the field.

“I think there’s so much potential and this is just the beginning, I feel like Hania Aamir dropping ‘Pablo’ is going to give inspiration to so many more girls in Pakistan, in South Asia and in the world, even maybe,” he said.

Aamir released ‘Pablo’ on September 9 as her debut single. The Punjabi diss track addresses her critics, with lyrics about her “opps” fuming while she continues vibing and chilling. Indian reality star Rakhi Sawant also features in the song with a message encouraging Aamir to face her haters with courage.

Sawant later defended Aamir after the song faced criticism, calling the actor her “sweetheart”.