LAHORE: A humorous video circulating on social media has drawn widespread attention, showing religious scholar Maulana Tariq Jameel and Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam appearing together at a Basant celebration in Lahore.

The video was shared by a user on the social media platform X with a caption suggesting that Maulana Tariq Jameel had also arrived in Lahore to celebrate Basant. The clip shows both personalities in the same frame, sparking amusement and curiosity among users and quickly going viral.

https://x.com/Tahirmughalpml8/status/2019344585760411744?s=20

Social media users reacted with a mix of humour and surprise, while some questioned the authenticity of the footage as it spread across platforms.

It was later clarified that the video is not real and was generated using artificial intelligence (AI). The clip was digitally created by combining facial features and movements to produce a realistic but fabricated scene, shared purely for entertainment purposes.

The video surfaced amid renewed public interest in Basant after the Punjab government officially allowed the festival to be celebrated in February 2026, marking its return after nearly two decades of restrictions. The celebrations, held primarily in Lahore from February 6 to 8, were permitted under a new regulatory framework aimed at ensuring public safety, including controls on kite flying, transport arrangements and law enforcement deployment.

The revival of Basant generated significant online discussion and cultural buzz, providing fertile ground for creative — and sometimes misleading — social media content. Observers note that as AI-generated videos become more common, viewers are increasingly urged to verify viral clips before assuming they reflect real events.