KARACHI: For those waiting in anticipation for the upcoming Pakistani spy action thriller, Operation 021 – don't hold your breath. The film is set to release later this year on Eid-ul-Azha in October and not this August as speculated.

The announcement was made on the film's official Facebook page, rubbishing all rumours about its Independence Day release.

The team further clarified that no official date was ever announced and August 14 release was mere speculation and misreporting.

"We had officially not announced any release date but since O21 has seen it's share of limelight recently, rumours began to spread," said the film's producer Azaan Sami Khan. "We stayed quiet until we were officially clear from our labs and post-production supervisors that the date is deliverable. Therefore Eid-ul-Azha is the only official date committed by us."

Khan further added that audience expectation builds when a date is announced, and that rumours about early releases can be damaging.

He also shared that the highly anticipated spy-thriller may also see a release in India.

"We are in talks with various distributors [in India and around the world], as we are trying very hard to make O21's release a simultaneous international one," said Khan.

The film is set to release exactly a year after the release of Pakistani action-drama Waar, which broke records for the Pakistani film industry last year.

Operation 021 has been produced by Zeba Bakhtiar and her son Azaan Sami Khan, in collaboration with Australian director Summer Nicks.

Launched as a project of One Motion Pictures, the film has Shaan Shahid starring as the lead actor, with supporting roles played by Shamoon Abbasi, Aamina Sheikh and Ayub Khoso.

Filmed mostly in the remote rural areas of Pakistan, Operation 021 is scripted to address the political events in Pakistan and bring awareness to the Pakistani audience.