Private news channel Samaa TV has tendered an apology and paid damages to Sindhi professor Alam Shah for terming him an 'Indian agent' and 'traitor'. In 2018, a protest against the controversial Dam Fund took place in London during former chief justice Saqib Nisar's visit to the city for fundraising. It was attended by several British-Pakistanis, mainly from the Sindh province.
Among the protestors was Dr Alam Shah who is a philosophy professor. The report had alleged that Shah lied about his Sindhi ethnicity when he was actually an Indian national. It was apparently done in order to dismiss the anti-dam protests as planted and 'conspiracy' hatched by the Indian lobby to sabotage the chief justice's visit. However, the channels have now admitted that they had lied about Shah's identity.
ARY News, which had made similar accusations against Shah, had already apologised for the same last year.
This is the second time in less than six months that a Pakistani news channel had to issue apology over its claims following action in the UK. In May, the late Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Mushahid Ullah Khan won defamation case against Pakistani TV channel Dunya News in the United Kingdom over a programme in which Dunya Islamabad Bureau Chief Khawar Ghumman had accused the late Senator of using Pakistan International Airline (PIA)’s money to stay in London and get treatment at a hospital in the city. The decision came about two months after his death.
Among the protestors was Dr Alam Shah who is a philosophy professor. The report had alleged that Shah lied about his Sindhi ethnicity when he was actually an Indian national. It was apparently done in order to dismiss the anti-dam protests as planted and 'conspiracy' hatched by the Indian lobby to sabotage the chief justice's visit. However, the channels have now admitted that they had lied about Shah's identity.
ARY News, which had made similar accusations against Shah, had already apologised for the same last year.
This is the second time in less than six months that a Pakistani news channel had to issue apology over its claims following action in the UK. In May, the late Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Mushahid Ullah Khan won defamation case against Pakistani TV channel Dunya News in the United Kingdom over a programme in which Dunya Islamabad Bureau Chief Khawar Ghumman had accused the late Senator of using Pakistan International Airline (PIA)’s money to stay in London and get treatment at a hospital in the city. The decision came about two months after his death.