Mahira Khan has confirmed she is expecting her second child, sharing the news during her debut appearance at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this month. The 41-year-old actor posted a maternity photo on Instagram, cradling her baby bump in a flowing white dress, with the caption: “We make plans and then there are Allah’s plans.”
The announcement comes 17 years after the birth of her son Azlan from her first marriage, and marks Khan’s first child with her husband, businessman Salim Karim, whom she married in an intimate ceremony in Bhurban in October 2023, according to Dawn Images. Khan reportedly told the outlet that going public was not an easy decision, since she considers herself “generally a private person” when it comes to her personal life.
The reveal happened alongside a packed few days for Khan at TIFF, where she attended the world premiere of “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother,” directed by Pakistani-origin filmmaker Bassam Tariq and featuring Oscar winner Mahershala Ali. She walked the red carpet in a burgundy-and-emerald sari by Aafrinish by Niazi, with her baby bump visible, and later moderated a panel with Tariq on South Asian storytelling and diaspora representation. Khan and Tariq were also honoured with the Muslim Excellence in Cinema and Art award at the Muslim International Film Festival Toronto, held alongside TIFF, in recognition of their work spotlighting underrepresented stories.
Speaking about the pregnancy itself, Khan drew a contrast with her first experience of motherhood.
“At 24, I think I went through pregnancy with a certain innocence… This time has been very different. Physically, it’s been harder,” Khan told Dawn Images.
On why she chose TIFF for her international festival debut, Khan said she wanted her presence to mean something rather than simply attending for visibility: “I want to know why I’m going, what the purpose is and what I can bring to that space,” she said, describing the festival as one she has “looked to for films to watch out for” for years and a chance to represent Pakistan as “an important South Asian voice” on a global stage.
The news set off a wave of congratulations from Pakistan’s entertainment circle, with actors including Sajal Aly, Saboor Aly and Bilal Ashraf posting messages for the couple, according to The Express Tribune. Khan is next expected to appear alongside Wahaj Ali in the upcoming action film “Mitti De Baway,” following her Eidul Fitr release “Aag Lagey Basti Mein” earlier this year.
Our Opinion
Khan’s decision to fold a deeply personal announcement into a professional milestone like her TIFF debut says something about how Pakistan’s biggest stars are now managing global platforms — using them not just for career moments but to control the narrative around their own lives, on their own terms; it is also a reminder that the loudest showbiz stories out of Pakistan this month have travelled through Toronto rather than Lahore or Karachi, which says as much about the industry’s growing international footprint as it does about any single actor’s news.
