Harmeet Singh, who was welcomed as the first-ever Sikh Anchor in Pakistan by the nation’s Public News Channel in 2018 was sacked and blocked from the channel earlier this September. The reason behind Singh’s removal from his job revolved around a piece of fake news disseminated by him.
Singh tweeted an alleged raid conducted by the Pakistan Peoples Leader Shazia Marri, a former member of the National Assembly of Pakistan and a Ministry for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety. However, the information was not verified by the reporter and was named as fake news later. This placed him in trouble as the Pakistani leader reached out to the news outlet, followed by him being sacked.
Talking to X, the Sikh reporter even issued an apology. However, it was noted that Shazia Marri threatened to stop the Sindh government’s activities and advertisements on the concerned TV Channel. His sorry statement was ignored and he was terminated no sooner.
“Bias against Minorities in Pakistan: Pakistan’s first Sikh journalist, Harmeet Singh was terminated by Public TV after tweeting about the raid on PPP leader Shazia Marri. Despite other channels reporting the same news, Harmeet Singh was singled out and blocked by the channel.”
Government Action
Earlier on September 11, 2023, Harmeet Singh asked the people for their support and redirected them from the news channel to his YouTube Channel, where he would henceforth report happenings. He said, “I have been pressurized by the Pakistan Peoples Party and have been told that all the doors of almost every news channel are shut for me.”
Shazia sent him a legal notice of a Rs 10 Billion defamation case and used her political power to dismiss him from the job while threatening that if he was not removed, all government and advertising would be stopped and the channel’s license cancelled.
Appeal For Help
Singh, along with senior journalists met the caretaker Federal Minister of Information, Murtaza Solangi on September 9, 2023, and was assured of all possible help. He informs that he had been categorically told by the leaders of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) that the doors of every media house are closed for him and his career in journalism.
He also shared the link with his social media page and said “Now I need your support. Support me in this difficult time by subscribing to my channel.
India stands with the Sikh Reporter
Reflecting on the Bias against minorities in Pakistan, the BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa whose bio-profile identifies him as a Committed Indian Sikh to Work for Humanity and the Community pointed out that Harmeet Singh was singled out despite other channels reporting the same news. He condemned Pakistan for the Sikh Reporters job termination while exploring solidarity with Singh.
Reaction by other Journalists
Media persons also reacted to these issues and pointed out that Singh’s apology letter after learning about the fake news was not valued. “Harmeet apologized publicly and wrote an apology letter to Shazia Mari Sahiba. But she did not forgive the man and allegedly called the public news to fire him. And in reality, they actually fired on him, tweeted a Pakistani journalist named Rai Saqib Kharal.
Similar to the BJP leader’s statement about the minorities in Pakistan, one of the Indian journalists named Akashdeep Thind felt that the Sikh reporter was targeted. With that said, he urged people to subscribe to Harmeet Singh’s YouTube Channel to support his journalism and keep it alive. He also said that a large number of Sikhs are migrating from here. He had wished to serve the country and make people aware of the beauty of the country.
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