Umar Cheema suggests Samaa TV episode was preplanned

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published last year |  JP Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD—Journalist Umar Cheema has retracted his criticism of a talk show on Samaa TV, alleging that the controversial episode was scripted and preplanned.

The incident occurred on the Samaa Digital show "Makalma," hosted by Ayesha Jahanzeb, where public speaker Sahil Adeem doubled down on his assertion that 95 percent of women in Pakistan are ignorant after a young woman asked him to apologize for the remark. As the argument escalated, playwright Khalilur Rehman Qamar angrily demanded that the microphone be taken from her.

The episode sparked a strong reaction and widespread condemnation, including from Cheema. However, over the past two days, social media users have suggested that the incident was scripted, a claim that Cheema now appears to support.

In a video posted on X, Cheema stated that the woman involved works for Samaa TV, and that the audience of the talk show consisted of the TV station's staff. He suggested that the entire episode was an effort to boost ratings and to achieve what TV channels often boast about: "channel baazi lay gia" (the TV channel has beaten everybody).