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As news of Thursday’s Air India Flight AI171 disaster in Ahmedabad swept across our feeds, Pakistani celebrities paused and mourned. From late‑night Instagram tributes to heartfelt tweets in the morning, actors, musicians, and cricketers opened up about their shock, sorrow and solidarity with the victims’ families.

Dubbed as the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade, an Air India plane bound for London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from the western city of Ahmedabad. Only one person survived the crash on seat 11A, who has been in the hospital and under treatment, according to the Indian news agency ANI.

Taking to her Instagram stories, Mahira Khan wrote, “Condolences to all who are grieving such a big loss.”

Hania Aamir said her thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the crash.

Sajal Aly called the news “extremely heartbreaking.”

Mawra Hocane said she couldn’t imagine the state of the victims’ loved ones. “Deepest condolences to the affected families,” she wrote.

Fahad Mustafa offered his deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims.

Durefishan Saleem said “Lives lost anywhere are lives lost,” while for Zara Noor Abbas, the air felt heavy.

The musician community also chimed in. Hasan Raheem, Goher Mumtaz and music producer Umair made a prayer for the departed souls.

Actors Bilal Qureshi, Asad Siddiqui, and Kinza Hashmi also expressed their condolences.

In response to a comment saying, “India is banning your artist and you are posting their news,” Khattak said that she “can be against false propaganda, twisted narratives, and baseless accusations, but still grieve the loss of innocent human lives.”

“And remember: every innocent life we lose, the colour of their blood is the same,” she added.

Singer and songwriter Bilal Maqsood recounted his performances in Ahmedabad, saying that the tragedy felt especially “close to his heart.”

“Duas for all the departed souls and strength for their families in this unimaginable loss,” he wrote.

Cricketer Shaheen Afridi said he was deeply saddened by the tragic news of the plane crash.

Bound for London Gatwick, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was carrying 242 people, including families returning from Eid holidays, students, and a young man who had recently won a visa lottery. The aircraft went down in a densely populated area, crashing into a medical college hostel during lunchtime, leaving behind a trail of devastation and grief.

As rescue workers comb through the wreckage and families begin the heartbreaking task of identifying loved ones, tributes from across the globe continue to pour in.