Gohar Mumtaz, the lead guitarist for Jal, cleared the air about his relationships with singers Atif Aslam and Farhan Saeed – both of whom began their musical careers in the band alongside Mumtaz.

In a recent appearance on Ahmed Ali Butt’s podcast, Excuse Me, he addressed controversies surrounding his former bandmates, stating that he still had “equal respect for both of them”, despite past differences. Speaking about comments he made about Saeed in an old interview, Mumtaz acknowledged that he should have never said what he did.

He clarified that he was asked a question about the band’s journey after Aslam left, and he said Saeed had to groom his voice in comparison to the band’s first lead vocalist. However, he said that the podcast was clipped to suggest that he was alleging that Saeed was not as good a vocalist as Aslam.

Mumtaz said that he later spoke to Saeed and explained that the interview did not reflect the truth. However, the musician maintained that he was upset about an interview Aslam did with Samina Peerzada where he spoke about Mumtaz in a negative light.

“I was quite hurt when I heard it. I also appeared on that show and she asked me the same questions, however, I did not talk about it.” Mumtaz said Aslam later came to him and apologised, claiming that Peerzada asked questions in a leading manner. “It [the matter] was sorted that same day when he realised he shouldn’t have spoken that much,” he added.