Stop Poking Fun at Pakhtoons!

We members of the board of directors of Pakhtoon American Community Association, Maryland, have noticed that Geo TV frequently ridicules and make fun of Pakhtoons (Patans).

After talking to other viewers, we confirmed that mockery of this large ethnic group of Pakistan is quite common in GEO TV and other Pakistani Channels.

Specifically, Pakhtoons are mocked in the following three ways:

Firstly, when a Pakhtoon person speaks Urdu, his accent is made fun of.

Secondly, jokes are communicated about Pakhtoons, showing them as dumb people.

Thirdly, Pakhtoons are given stereotypical roles of drivers and security guards in dramas.

Through this petition, we urge GEO TV and all other channels to stop all these three forms of degradation.

Just as Punjabis, Mohajars and other ethnic groups will abhor such practices, Pakhtoons deserve and demand proper respect.

Below are specific details and examples of mockery that is taking place on T.V.

The first issue relates to a situation when a caller calls into a talk show program such as Nadia Khan’s show or Rahat’s Cooking. Immediately the talk show host starts making fun of the caller’s accent and origin by imitating: “Ke Sunga Hall dey.”

This is our problem with this scenario. Okay, it’s agreed that Pakhtoons speak URDU with an accent. Now what is wrong with that? Does it mean others have to jab at them by repetition or laughter?

It is a well known fact that Urdu or Punjabi speakers speak English with heavy accent. What if an Urdu-speaking person opened his mouth in English to a native English speaker and before he even finishes, the native speaker starts imitating the accent of Urdu-speaker?

It doesn’t require a genius to know that it is impolite to repeat the accent of a person who is talking to you.

The second issue we have is the propagation of jokes about Pakhtoons on these channels. Ethnic jokes have no place in civilized world.

We have been told that Pakistani TV channels are a constant source of jokes at Punjabi and Urdu speaking gatherings. It is not uncommon to hear, “the other day Omer Shareef was joking this way …….”

For example, tune to the Omer Shareef show on GEO where he sits on a throne and listens to new jokes by the future of Pakistan.

The third issue we have with TV Channels is why are they always stereotyping Pakthoons in the roles of drivers and security guards?

Pakhtoons have shown themselves to be on equal footing with all ethnic groups in education and practice.

There is nothing wrong with being a driver and a security guard, but it is time they are shown in other roles also.

In Pakistan and abroad there are many Pakthoons successfully fulfilling other real life roles of bank officers, teachers, computer professionals, engineers and doctors.

The recent example of such stereotyping is exhibited by GEO where it shows a fruit vendor ecstatic about getting to listen to GEO. What is the ethnicity of this fruit vendor? Of course, a Pakhtoon from Peshawar.

Again, we would have no problem if a Punjabi farmer is shown in lungi, playing dumb and enjoying GEO. Why are always such roles consistently given to one ethnicity?