Aamir Liaquat Hussain: Pakistan’s shock televangelist dies at 50

Aamir Liaquat Hussain: Pakistan’s shock televangelist dies at 50. Aamir Liaquat Hussain, one of Pakistan’s most well-known and divisive TV broadcasters, died at the age of 50 after being discovered unconscious at his Karachi home. The anchor was brought to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead when he arrived. A post-mortem examination is being performed.

Aamir Liaquat Hussain, a televangelist, turned politician, is a member of Imran Khan’s PTI party. His career was marred by scandal; he offered babies to childless couples on TV and was barred from the country due to hate speech. The outspoken anchor’s personal life was also made public, thanks to his social media activity. He married a third time in the final chapter of his life, but it terminated publicly and acrimoniously within months. Dania Shah, his 18-year-old bride, filed for divorce in May, accusing him of domestic violence and drug addiction.

During an Islamic quiz show, Pakistani television host Aamir Liaquat Hussain (R) delivers gifts to the crowd.

• AFP IMAGE SOURCE
• caption for image
• Aamir Liaquat Hussain was well-known for his television contests.

Aamir Liaquat Hussain, who worked for several of Pakistan’s most prominent media firms over his career, was unquestionably popular with a segment of the audience, but he was polarising for many others.

His programs were highly planned and included religious teachings and frequent abuse. He was an articulate speaker and a terrific showman who ensured ratings.

Those who were named and degraded on the televangelist shows regularly complained. He would accuse them of blasphemy, betrayal, and immorality, among other things.

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In September 2008, he devoted a whole episode to delving into the beliefs of the Ahmadis. This Muslim sect claims to follow the Koran’s teachings but is considered heretical by orthodox Muslims.

Two academics claimed that anyone who associates with false prophets is “deserving of death.” A prominent member of the Ahmadi sect was shot dead in the small village of Mirpur Khas in Sindh province within 24 hours after the broadcast.

The outspoken anchor will recall sexist remarks regarding liberal women in Pakistan, frequently artists, novelists, or human rights advocates. His broadcasts featured quiz shows and gift giveaways, including vehicles, motorcycles, household appliances, and abandoned babies 2013.

caption in the media, Orla Guerin has a report on a controversial TV show that has given two childless couples babies. He argued at the time that the measure was intended to give infants a better shot at life, not simply to enhance his ratings. “Before we gave away a baby, we were already at the top of the ratings. Hussain characterised himself as “really a legend” on his website, saying, “We took these children from the garbage, from the trash, and presented them to the needy people.

Symbol of divide and hypocrisy

BBC Urdu, Islamabad, Abid Hussain. Aamir Liaquat Hussain was a genuinely larger-than-life personality who dominated the public imagination in Pakistan for two decades, serving as both an entertainment star and a symbol of modern society’s hypocrisy and contradictions.

At the crossroads of religion, politics, and show business, he found himself in the right place at the right moment. The televangelist has worked as a game show host, politician, wannabe actress, model, and brand ambassador before becoming a televangelist. He has his apparel line as well.

His actions on his game show elicited equal amounts of admiration and hatred.

He was equally at ease handing out rewards as he was giving religious fatwas and making often incendiary, sometimes incorrect pronouncements about journalists and others. On his show on Geo TV, possibly Pakistan’s most famous religious show, expletives-laced rants were blended with sermons on Islamic ideals.

The news of his death traveled like wildfire, and the reaction was as divided as it had been to him when he was alive, aside from the first shock. Thousands of his fans expressed their sorrow alongside condolences from political leaders. Many Pakistanis, however, are unwilling to speak ill of the dead and have reminded people of his controversial utterances and heinous past.

The TV host served in parliament from 2002 until 2008 when the MQM party dismissed him. From 2004 until 2007, he was the Minister of State for Religious Affairs under then-President Pervez Musharraf.

As a politician, he was embroiled in several controversies. He was once kidnapped by students enraged by his efforts to condemn suicide bombers.

He also called British-Indian novelist Salman Rushdi “deserving of death” on another occasion, words that compelled him to quit parliament.