Fact-check: No, Atif Aslam did not refuse to perform in Saudi Arabia

Viral posts online claim that Pakistani singer Atif Aslam refused to perform in Saudi Arabia due to religious reasons.

There is no evidence of such a statement online, and the singer’s brother has confirmed it is fabricated.

Claim

On November 12, a Facebook user shared a graphic reading: “My heart does not accept performing near holy places: Atif Aslam reportedly refused to perform in Saudi Arabia.”

The post included the caption: “Atif Aslam reportedly declined to perform in Saudi Arabia due to his personal beliefs regarding performing near holy places. He expressed that his heart does not accept such performances, emphasi[s]ing respect for the sanctity of these locations.”

The post had garnered 2,800 likes and 727 shares at the time of writing.

Identical claims also took off on Facebook here and here.

Fact

The viral claim that Atif Aslam refused to perform in Saudi Arabia is incorrect.

Aslam’s brother Shahzad Aslam denied to Geo Fact Check that the singer made any such statement.

“This is rubbish,” Shahzad said over the phone. “We did not say anything like this. We did not make any such statement.”

Geo Fact Check also found no record of such a quote in the singer’s recent interviews.

Follow us on @GeoFactCheck on X (Twitter) and @geo_factcheck on Instagram. If our readers detect any errors, we encourage them to contact us at [email protected]