Pakistani Anchor Grilled Over Pro-India Comments; Pak Celebrities Come To The Rescue

By
Aakriti Sharma
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Pakistani TV presenter Iqrar ul Hassan Syed, who hosts the popular show, ‘Sar-e-Aam’, on ARY News, has come under fire for hailing India as a leading manufacturer of Covid-19 vaccines. However, celebrities in the country have come forward in his support.

Hassan was criticized after he quoted Amitabh Kant’s tweet on India being a vaccine hub and compared the two countries. Kant is the CEO of the NITI Aayog, the government’s policy think tank.

Hassan highlighted in his tweet that in Pakistan, people are totally clueless if the government has even ordered the vaccine or not, and producing it is a far-fetched idea.

He further says if Pakistan wants to fight with India, then it should be in the terms of education, science, sports, infrastructure, economy, and technology, along with facing the truth.

Hassan also compared the public transport system of the two countries, the value of currencies, and passports. He shared a picture of a crowded Pakistani bus, which was in tatters, along with images of India’s Jan Shatabdi Express with world-class facilities.

He said: “Unfortunately, our passport is at the level of Afghanistan and Somalia. The rupee is one rupee and ninety paise against the Bangladeshi ‘taka’ and the Indian rupee is two rupees and twenty paise. May Allah help us to make Pakistan into the true meaning of Zindabad.”

Many social media users in Pakistan were enraged over Hassan’s tweets and asked him to apologize. They even compared him with Indian TV news presenters and how they are loyal to the country.

Social media users said that while India has people who defend the country, people like Hassan were questioning the Pakistani army, the government and criticizing the country. Some suggested Hassan should take asylum in India.

Amid the social media outrage against Hassan, Pakistani celebrities came forward in support of the news anchor, saying what he has tweeted was nothing wrong and should be taken in the right spirit.

Former Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar was one of them. He said: “Before bashing anyone, one must see the context of what’s being said. Love, devotion & dedication of @iqrarulhassan towards our beloved country Pakistan is not even debatable or questionable.”

Many social media users then began the Hashtag #WesupportIQRARULHASSAN and shared his stories of courage and bravery. They also questioned the Pakistani hate-mongers as to how they could slam somebody who is talking about the development of the country.

Hassan is popular in Pakistan for his investigative journalism and questioning the functioning of the government and the system. In December 2020, Hassan was attacked by unknown assailants in Lahore.

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