Abrar ul Haq's controversial comment on mothers playing 'Baby Shark' triggers debate amongst celebrities

Singer turned politician Abrar ul Haq's quip about mothers playing the song 'Baby Shark' may have gone down well with some people but it didn't sit right with everyone who heard it. While celebrities such as model Nadia Hussain and actor Yasir Hussain criticised the singer, actor Zarnish Khan and singer Shafqat Amanat Ali came to Haq's defence.

Haq — who joined the PTI after a successful run as a singer-songwriter during the 90s — made his controversial comment at a PTI celebratory convention in Islamabad on August 26. "When we used to be young, we got to listen to the Kalma being recited by our mothers," he said. "Today's kids are handed cellphones so that mothers can play them 'Baby Shark'," he said.

A video of Haq's comment, which included him singing 'Baby Shark', was widely shared on social media. Nadia reacted to the video on Twitter and criticised the singer.

"Not sure how you go from listening to the Kalma from your mother to belting out song such as 'Nach Punjaban' or 'Billo De Ghar'," she said on Twitter, referring to the singer's popular songs about women.

The song 'Nach Punjaban' is about a Punjabi woman who loves to dance while the song 'Billo De Ghar' is about a man flirtatiously rushing to the house of a woman he likes. Yasir backed Nadia up by sharing her critique on social media. "You've hit the nail on the head. Good one," he said on instagram Stories.

Khan did not seem to share the same sentiments though. She criticised those making personal attacks against Haq character in light of his comments.

"If someone says a good thing, let's term it as such," she said on Instagram Stories. "Let's not ignore what they said or judge their whole lives. If this goes on then we'll have to practice becoming deaf [to good statements]."

Ali also commented in defence of Haq on a post by the publication Galaxy Lollywood on Instagram. "Abrar ul Haq did not say anything wrong. He didn't shame mothers or any women here. He just said the truth which includes all of us! It should be an eye opener for us rather than throwing a fit at him. We do not have to criticise everything," he wrote.

"The songs 'Nach Punjaban' and 'Billo De Ghar' were not by the singer in the lap of his mother at the age of one," Ali continued. "He's talking about raising kids here, not someone's profession. It is a person's choice whether they want to be a singer or an actor when they grow up."

Ali's comment came as a response to a general debate triggered by Haq's critique on whether the singer should have called out mothers for playing rhymes such as 'Baby Shark' to their children, as opposed to playing them content more religious in nature.