Harmeet Singh, who was welcomed as the first-ever Sikh news 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 being removed from his job revolved around a piece of fake news disseminated by him. Check tweets
Everything about the fake news and Singh's job termination
Singh tweeted about an alleged raid conducted on Pakistan Peoples Party leader Shazia Marri, a former member of the National Assembly of Pakistan and Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety. However, the information was not verified by the reporter and was termed "fake" later. This landed 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 Sindh government advertisements" on the concerned TV channel. His sorry statement was ignored and he was terminated no sooner.
Earlier on Monday (September 11), Harmeet Singh asked people for their support and redirected them from the news channel to his YouTube channel where he would henceforth report happenings. "I have been presurrised by Pakistan Peoples Party and have been told doors of all news channels are shut for me.."
He also shared the link to his social media page and said, "Now I need your support. Support me in this difficult time by subscribing to my channel..." Visit his YT channel by clicking on the video below
India stands with Sikh reporter
Reflecting on the "Bias against minorities in Pakistan," BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa whose X bio identifies him as a "Committed Indian Sikh to work for humanity and community" pointed out that Harmeet Singh was "singled out" despite other channels reporting the same news. He condemned Pakistan for the Sikh reporter's job termination while expressing solidarity with Singh. Check tweet
Journalists condemn job termination
Media persons also reacted to the issue and pointed out that Singh's apology letter after learning about the fake news was not valued. "Harmeet apologised publicly and wrote an apology letter to Shazia Marri Sahiba. But she didn’t forgive the Man and allegedly called public news to fire him!! AND GUESS WHAT! They DID fire him," tweeted a Pakistani journalist named Rai Saqib Kharal.
Similar to the BJP leader's statements about 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.
