Quetta crowd heckles Mahira Khan onstage during her speech

Acclaimed actor Mahira Khan was heckled onstage while she was speaking at an event in Quetta, however, she displayed remarkable poise and handled the situation with grace.

Mahira was visibly excited to be at Quetta "for the first time" for the Pakistan Literature Festival (PLF), but in the midst of her speech, she encountered an unexpected situation when objects were thrown at her from the audience.

The incident occurred twice. The first time, she handled it gracefully, allowing the event to continue. The host Wajahat Rauf promptly addressed the security personnel, requesting them to monitor the crowd.

Unfortunately, the harassment continued after which Khan calmly responded by saying, "How can I deliver a line when things are being thrown?"

Despite the disruption, the "Raees" star continued to engage with the audience and even fulfilled their request by saying a fan-favourite dialogue from her popular film, Maula Jatt.

However, netizens showered Mahira Khan with praise, commending her for handling the situation gracefully.

“This is sad and disgusting at the same time, she has achieved so many things for Pakistan, [and] represented it on so many international occasions with elegance and grace. And I guess she is the most humble and polite star we have. This is beyond words,” a comment read on Instagram.

“And that is how it is done. Our actresses need schooling from Mahira on speaking and how to handle public and media talk. She is the only one who keeps her calm, doesn’t get aggressive, and know[s] how to talk,” a social media user opined. 

Actress Kinza Hashmi took to her Instagram story to condemn the crowd's “unacceptable” behaviour towards Mahira Khan.

Actress Rabya Kulsoom also criticised the event management for their negligence. She stated,  “Arts Council Pakistan (ACP) and organisers should be held responsible for this. Where was the security and why was she asked to announce a film or dialogue and made to sit instead of instantly taking an action and securing her.”