Live Apology of TV Anchor Abeeha Agha
MetroOne News anchor Alveena Agha has apologized on-air in her own show personally and on behalf of the channel management for leveling false, derogatory, and defamatory allegations against Schon Group.
MetroOne decided to apologize live to set the record straight after replying officially on September 10, 2020, to a notice Issued by COC PEMRA in a complaint filed by Schon Group over the incorrect, false and derogatory statements issued by the channel’s anchor Alveena Agha.
Schon Group was targeted in an unfair misinformation campaign since 2018 by various trolls and a few people in media.
Copies of the complaint and PEMRA decision, as well as MetroOne’s apology, show that the Schon Group had filed a criminal complaint with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) cybercrime wing and the investigation is ongoing to the culprits of this offense.
MetroOne news channel confirmed that it has “already issued Ms. Alveena Agha, host of the program, Show Cause Notice regarding the matter and suspended her, that we have also aired the apology in the same program by the Host on 10th September 2020”.
The channel further mentioned: “We further assure that no further incident of this nature happens again in future and we apologize for any inconvenience caused to Schon Group. That in view of the above, we hope that the complainant will overlook the matter and the complaint will be withdrawn as a human error.”
Schon Group President, Danial H Schon said: “We are regretful that completely false information was shared by a responsible TV channel. These allegations are part of a malicious campaign orchestrated by a few vested interests to target the business group and the family for their personal gains. As a business group, our credibility is everything and we accept the apology of MetroOne news channel and hope such action is not repeated in the future.”
On her show “Inside the News”, the host Alveena Agha told her viewers in her apology that on 14 July 2020 she did a show on Karachi Electric and Schon Group and that the content was not mean to be “malicious”, “negative” or “propaganda” based.
Alveena Agha said that what she presented in her show were “facts”, in her view, and “I apologize if that has hurt anyone. I apologize for that”.
Alveena Agha confirmed that what she had alleged, falsely, was her personal view and the “MetroOne news channel management has nothing to do with these allegations and the no one from the channel management was involved. I reiterate that my show was not planned to be malicious”.
Linked to the same case, Waseem Ahmed Abbasi, a London based shop manager at the North London Hospice, was also found to be involved in running fake accounts to target the group in a year-long campaign of bullying and harassment. It’s understood that legal action is being taken in several jurisdictions against the people involved in the campaign.
Schon Group of Companies has operations in Pakistan, the Middle East, and Europe and is a globally recognized pioneer in Pakistan’s economy. Schon Family is considered one of the largest business families of Pakistan and is a 100% debt-free group.
“Schon Group has been contributing to the success of Pakistan’s economy for the last 49 years, since 1971, and have created thousands of jobs, contributed to Pakistan’s GDP, paid taxes, and gotten foreign direct investment for the country. The business community is the backbone of the country and targeting businesspeople by media should stop and is not beneficial for the nation,” said Mr. Schon.
