TikToker Hareem Shah and her husband, Bilal Shah recently made headlines for their alleged arrest at a Turkey airport along with the news that a hefty amount of gold and cash was found with them.
Breaking the silence on the reports, the 30-year-old influencer released a statement to refute all rumours. Calling the news "fake," Shah also stated that she will take legal action against media that spread rumours without evidence.
The couple uploaded a video on Hareem's YouTube Channel on Saturday to address the issue and clarify that the information about her arrest is false.
“A [piece of] news against me has been circulating on social media, electronic media, print media all morning — a lot of them [media outlets] contacted me as well but I was busy at the time. A few days back, there was fake news about me claiming I’d been reported in Qatar. I stayed silent because what am I supposed to say about this kind of fake news? Every other day people spread fake news saying something against me that’s false,” she said.
Calling out Pakistani media for not verifying "news" and putting it out without any ethical responsibility, the TikTok star added, “When there’s not one bit of truth in something, they [still] use it to defame the person by playing the news against them. I think it is to insult other people. Are you not responsible enough to check the validity of the news you’re broadcasting to the masses? You keep announcing such mistaken things day by day, I don’t know what you’re trying to prove by spreading misinformation. What narrative of my own am I supposed to add to this?”
The couple further counted that they've consulted lawyers and will be looking into the matter officially to report all outlets involved in misinforming people. "I will take legal action against all these channels. The way all of them — electronic media, print media and social media — were celebrating. Honour and dishonour are in the hands of God and no such thing has happened. I deny all false news against myself and continue with this announcement. You have previously spread fake news about my husband as well, ever since his name has joined mine. You used to put me down but now you have started speaking against him and spreading such fake news.”
After talking about how her husband was once framed by media, the digital influencer then asked Bilal to speak about how such news affects real lives. Calling it a cyclical, periodic pattern for fake news, he described how he was wrongly accused of money extortion and being a part of the land mafia. He added that these cases never go to the high court since the agencies who accused him had no evidence to actually fight it.
In concluding the video, Hareem once again addressed media outlets and asked them to "bring things forward with the "truth."
She exclaimed that with such unauthenticity, Pakistani media will become an unreliable source of information. "This is the kind of journalism in Pakistan? Are you willing to show such unauthentic things on media channels? Bring things forward with proof. When will you stop spreading false news? If you keep crying wolf, no one will believe you when the wolf actually arrives. I don’t know what war you’ve waged against me that you consider it sawab [reward] to spread [these lies].
Reiterating that the couple will choose a legal way to deal with such recurring patterns now, she stated, “Our lawyer Munir Ahmed Khan is with us and we do after consulting his advice. We are too busy to provide narratives for these small matters. What PEMRA (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority) says about this, our lawyer will find out and take charge of the matter."
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