Open for hate – GEO TV inciting remarks on the show

Amir Liaquat and GEO News yet again found themselves in trouble. The broadcaster allowed hate speech and inciting remarks by a cleric to be aired on notorious TV personality Aamir Liaquat’s show. He termed the Ahmadi community as “enemies of Pakistan” during the show.

A few days after the show was aired, a member of the Ahmadi community was shot dead in Gujranwala.

Later, GEO News somehow manage to issue a statement for remarks being allowed to be broadcasted. The broadcaster and the host were both subjected to heavy criticism both by members of the media as well as the greater civil society, accused of promoting violence and hatred against the already-maligned Ahmadi community.

A spokesperson for GEO News admitted that Owaisi’s comments during the “Subh-e-Pakistan” show had breached the network’s rules and regulations. He said that the incident occurred since it is “difficult to control” the events of a live show. Guests and hosts are allowed to speak whatever they want and Geo TV does not lend an ear to them. The way in derogatory content is being promoted at the channel clearly shows the ignoring attitude of GEO News.

Such incidents continue to haunt the media and broadcasting sector and must be taken strong action against. For people belonging to different sects and communities, it is quite dangerous that the major broadcasters in the country continue to produce such offensive and dangerous content against them.