A school in Pakistan cancelled a plan for students to sing ‘Imagine’, the world-famous 1971 ode to peace by John Lennon, after complaints that the song encourages atheism.

Pupils at the Karachi Grammar School (KGS), a liberally-inclined private institution with 2,400 places, were on Friday night due to sing the anthem at an in-house concert, upholding a tradition that stretches back decades.

But administrators decided it would no longer be safe after a popular conservative journalist highlighted ‘controversial lyrics’ in the song, hinting that they might fall foul of Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws.

“Students will sing John Lennon’s lyrics - no heaven, no hell, no religion too,” tweeted Ansar Abbasi, who has 500,000 followers, on Wednesday.