Sindh minister demands action against PTV anchorperson for 'ridiculing Sindhi people'

Sindh Culture Minister Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah has written a letter to Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar seeking action against PTV anchorperson Rizwan Razi over his objectionable remarks.

"I am constrained to draw your kind attention towards a video clip that has gone viral on social media. In this clip, a person reportedly identified as Anchor Rizwan Rehman is seen mocking the Sindhi people in a derogatory manner," the minister wrote in the letter.

"He repeatedly makes offensive comparisons and insinuations linking the Sindhi community with the causes of recent floods, which is entirely baseless and misleading."

The minister said that the flood situation in the country was the result of complex climatic and environmental factors, and cannot be attributed to any community, adding that instead of highlighting factual issues, the anchor has chosen to ridicule an entire community, which reflected not only ignorance but also an attempt to stigmatize the Sindhi community.

"I have received numerous calls and messages from citizens, intellectuals, and community leaders across Sindh who have expressed resentment over this clip," he said.

"Such irresponsible commentary has hurt the sentiments of the people and appears aimed at promoting linguistic bias and hatred among communities. This is dangerous trend which must be discouraged at all costs."

The minister said that this individual was a government servant and such conduct was wholly unbecoming of a public servant, and it was not appropriate for a person holding such a position to make devisive and inflammatory statements on national media.

"If left unchecked, such behavior may set a precedent or targeting other communities as well, thereby creating inter-provincial tensions. Moreover, such utterances risk being misconstrued by the public as reflective of state policy, which they are not," said the letter.