–Khalilur Rehman says he will never work with Geo TV
Geo Entertainment on Thursday announced that they had suspended their contract with writer Khalilur Rehman Qamar after he swore at rights activist Marvi Sirmed two days ago on live television, saying the deal would remain suspended until Qamar apologised.
Qamar, who is working with other TV channels as well, is also involved in a movie project that features renowned actors Mehwish Hayat and Humayun Saeed and is being shot these days.
“Geo believes in exchange of ideas and promoting the culture of Live and Let live (Geo our Jeenay do) we believe that everyone has the right to express their opinions and the culture of healthy debate should be encouraged,” a statement from the channel read.
The statement further said such debates should be held in the norms of decency and with respect. “He [Qamar] not only used abusive language against a woman but also refused to accept his mistake and apologise for it,” read the statement.
“GEO has always aimed to create an enabling environment for thought and debate even if that includes criticism on the organisation itself. GEO Aur Jeenay Do.”
Following Geo’s announcement, Qamar responded by saying that he will not apologise for his comments and assured his followers that he will “not work with this institution for my life to come”.
On Wednesday, the topic of discussion on the news channel was none other than Aurat March and Qamar expressed his disdain towards the kind of slogans that are raised during the yearly protest.
In response to a question by the host, Qamar started off by saying, “When the court has denied the usage of slogans like ‘Mera jism, meri marzi’ (My body, my choice), then it hurts me deeply when figures like Marvi Sirmed use these slogans.”
As soon as he said this, Sirmed interrupted his response by reiterating the same slogan over and over again. This left Qamar baffled and he started yelling at her in a demeaning manner.
“Tere jism men hai kya? (What is in your body) Don’t talk in between. Thookta nahi hai koi tere jism pe (No one would even spit on your body). Shut up you b****. Beech men nahi bolo (Don’t talk in between),” he said.
The host, a woman herself, chimed in asking Sirmed to stay quiet, without calling out Qamar for his vulgar use of language.
The incident, of course, has ignited a fierce debate on social media, with a number of people supporting Qamar’s blatant disrespect, while a number of women are rallying to get him banned from TV.
