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Pop star Asim Azhar and newly minted singer Hania Aamir have a complicated past, to say the least. But in the present, Azhar seems to be enjoying his ex’s music just like the rest of us.

In a clip shared on Friday by the BBC Asian Network, the ‘Khabbay Sajjay’ singer said he thought Aamir’s new song ‘Pablo’ was 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 Pakistani listeners need to stop being so critical with how they listen to music, treat songs like a form of expression and not like they’re judging on Pakistan Idol.

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

Azhar appeared to be particularly impressed with the song’s lyrics, which Aamir wrote herself. “I think each and every line addresses a major controversy in just in one-liners. I think that’s very smart.”

Azhar said he wanted “Pakistani pop girlies” to outnumber men in the field and hoped Aamir’s ‘Pablo’ could act as a step in that direction.

“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.”

‘Pablo’, which released on September 9, was a vibrant Punjabi diss track aimed at Aamir’s many haters. At various points in the song she said she was “vibing” and “chilling” while all her opps were in the back “fuming”.

The song featured a message from Indian reality star Rakhi Sawant telling Aamir to be brave and face her haters with courage. When it was critiqued after its release, Sawant was one of the first to leap to Aamir’s defence, calling the actor her “sweetheart”.