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Actor Muneeb Butt and singer Jawad Ahmad have spoken up in support of anchorperson and writer Shahzeb Khanzada after videos emerged on social media of him being accosted in public by a man accusing him of acting against PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi.

The man followed Khanzada — who seemed to be shopping with his family — repeatedly telling him he should be “ashamed” of “what he has done against Imran” and Bushra Bibi. Khanzada did not respond and simply walked away.

The man made no attempt to explain his accusations, though PTI’s Shahbaz Gill later shared an old clip of Khanzada discussing the Iddat case on his show — the case filed by Bushra Bibi’s former husband Khawar Maneka against her marriage to Imran during her iddat period.

Gill claimed “this is the filth Shahzeb did,” adding that if the media fraternity had condemned it earlier, “the situation would not have reached this point” — an apparent justification for the harassment.

Celebrities were among the many to condemn the incident. Butt called it a “shameful act,” praising Khanzada as one of the “most intelligent, credible and competent journalists”.

Singer Ahmad also denounced the confrontation, saying the man should be “booked by police” for harassing the journalist. He added that such behaviour must be penalised so that “no one acts hostile towards others having different political beliefs and leanings in the future”.

The PTI founder and his wife — both of whom are currently under arrest — were convicted by an Islamabad court in the Iddat case and sentenced to seven years in jail each on Feb 3, 2024, five days before the general elections.

In July the same year, they were acquitted in the case but then arrested on charges related to the sale of state gifts.