‘Illiterate idiot’: Adnan Sami hits back at Pak ex-minister’s ‘deflated balloon’ jab

Singer-composer Adnan Sami has found himself caught in the online trolling crossfire between India and Pakistan as tensions run high in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.

The ugly attack came from Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, a former information and broadcasting minister of Pakistan, who raised questions on Sami’s citizenship. The singer-composer has been an Indian citizen for nearly a decade now.

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War of words

Hussain on Saturday (April 26) shared a post on X by an Indian journalist about the Centre’s decision asking Pakistani nationals to leave India following the Pahalgam attack and captioned it: “What about Adnan Sami?”

Sami responded to Hussain’s post, saying, “Who’s going to tell this illiterate idiot!!”

Hussain responded further, writing, “Our very Own Lahori Adnan Sami aisay lag rahay hein jaisey Balooon se hawa nikal chuki hooo… get well soon @AdnanSamiLive (sic).” [It seems our very own Lahori Adnan Sami has deflated like a balloon].

Sami corrected him, saying that he was not a “Lahori” since his roots were in Peshawar and not Lahore. His father was a Pakistani Air Force veteran-diplomat and his mother was originally from Jammu and Kashmir. Sami himself was born in London.

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“To think that you were Minister of (Mis) Information and have no knowledge of any information... And you were Minister of Science? Was that the science of BULLS**T??” the singer wrote in his post.

He took a further dig at Hussain, saying he may have lost all air but Hussain was “still a balloon”. Sami had to fend off more such trolling from Pakistani nationals, resulting in quite an ugly war of words.

Pahalgam aftermath

After terrorists struck Pahalgam earlier this week, killing 26 persons, most of them tourists, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said all Pakistani nationals must leave India before their visas expire.

Sami shared a post on X after the Pahalgam attack, writing: “Innocent lives, full of hope and promise, were mercilessly snuffed out, leaving behind a trail of tears, shattered dreams, and inconsolable grief... How can humanity stoop to such depths of depravity? How can the beauty of nature be perverted to stage such horrific crimes against humanity?”

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Sami’s citizenship

Sami, known for songs such as Kabhi To Nazar Milao, Tera Chehra, Lift Kara De, and Bhar Do Jholi, first arrived in India on March 13, 2001, on a visitor’s visa with the validity of one year issued by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

Sami’s visa was extended from time to time. His Pakistani passport issued on May 27, 2010, expired on May 26, 2015, and his passport was not renewed by the Pakistan government, which led him to approach the Indian government with the request to legalise his stay in India on humanitarian grounds. His wish was granted.

(With agency inputs)