Actress Saheefa Jabbar Khattak took to Instagram stories to criticise Ramazan transmissions airing during this month for ignoring the warnings of the government about the rising cases of Covid-19, and were not playing their part in following SOPs and are endangering the crews as well as audiences by filming in such environments:
“In this moment, and in this holy month, I take offence to most of the Ramadan transmissions aired on our local television. They do not follow protocols, and are filmed on sets where crews as large as 60 to 70 people are not quarantined, and don’t operate inside a bio secure environment This is a blatant breach of government policy, and just shows our inherent insensitivity to the situation.”
Saheefa further went on to criticize the functioning of Ramadan transmissions for constantly ridiculing and abusing other human beings for the sake of entertainment and did not have anything productive to offer:
“The programming in itself has nothing to offer. There is nothing redeemable about these shows. Rather, they seem hell bent on ridiculing and insulting human beings in the name of entertainment and profit. It’s crass, crude, and has zero respect for human dignity. I’m sorry but its frustrates me alot!”
In the end, the actress urged Ramadan transmissions to try and spread more awareness about the Corona virus and how audiences can implement proper SOPs, as well as reinforce the messages that were sent by the government. She also urged her fans to practice social distancing during the Eid holidays and to take this pandemic seriously:
“Instead, in my opinion, airtime consumed by these shows can be used to spread awareness about Covid-19, and enforce the message sent out by the government , but this I feel will not be possible. And there was no better time to do it than in Ramadan, magar phir nayi Corolla car kaisay jeetay?
Please take care of yourself! Spend this Eid while practicing social distancing. Take the pandemic seriously, recognize your privilege, and try to see through the lies we consume through the magic box!”
You can read her complete statement below:
