Pak TV host, Maya Khan, fired for conducting controversial show

Popular TV host, Maya Khan and her production team have been fired after she invited the wrath of hundreds of Pakistanis for trying to “drill” moral sense into young couples dating in Karachi’s parks. An intense online campaign was conducted after she was shown on a TV show conducting a ‘raid’ on a public park in Karachi and questioning couples about whether their parents were aware of their whereabouts and going as far as asking them about their marital status. The chief executive of Samaa channel confirmed that the morning show Subah Saverey Maya Khan Kay Saath had been taken off air from Monday after she refused to make an unconditional apology over the controversial episode. [caption id=“attachment_196888” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Reuters.”] [/caption] In the said episode, Maya charges through a public park with a battalion of other women looking for dating couples to interrogate. The episode in which Maya and her team self righteously lecture the couples they come across caused outrage leading to a strong campaign by bloggers and on social networking websites and in some sections of the media. Maya came in for harsh criticism for putting the lives of the couples in danger and intruding into the private lives of other people as she and her team interrogated the harassed couples with questions like “does your family know you are here-why don’t you meet at home if you are engage and most outrageously, if you are married, where is your Nikahnama (marriage certificate)?” When the harassed couples ask for the camera to be turned off, the Samaa team pretends to acquiesce but carries on filming with sound. Outraged people pointed out that this intrusive behavior could result in putting those couples in life threatening situations in a country where forced marriages and honour killings continue to be the norm. Hundreds of people also sent protest letters to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority at the online feedback form for the moral policing of Maya Khan and her team. Maya Khan confirmed that her show had indeed been cancelled. The morning show host blamed “a vicious media campaign by rival groups” for the outcome of the fiasco. She said that those campaigning against her had wanted her to be removed and this is exactly what had happened. Khan stressed on the fact that no one had highlighted the “good things” she had done on her show. PTI