Fasi Zaka Explained

Fasi Zaka
Native Name:فصیح زکاء
Birth Place:Charsadda, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan
Nationality: Pakistani
Television:
  • News, Views & Confused (2007)
  • Do Raaye (2017)
Years Active:2004–present

Fasi Zaka (Pushto; Pashto: فاسی زاکا; born 9 October) is a Pakistani political commentator, columnist, radio talk show host, and television anchor.[1] [2]

Zaka attended Somerville College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He rose to prominence for his satirical views of the War on Terror and emergency rule, as host of News, Views & Confused on Aaj TV.[3] After featuring as a columnist for The News, Zaka began The Fasi Zaka Show on Radio1 FM91, which became one of the highest-rated radio shows in the country. He returned to television a decade later as co-host of primetime current affairs programme Do Raaye on Dawn News in 2017.

He was declared a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and has been described as a "media polymath" and "shock jock".[4] [5]

Early life

Born to a Pakhtun family from Charsadda, Zaka received his elementary schooling in Peshawar, where he stayed until he acquired his bachelor's degree from Edwardes College in Peshawar and master's degree from the University of Peshawar. Zaka is also a University of Oxford postgraduate funded as a Rhodes Scholar[6] in the session 2001–03 from Somerville College.

Career

Zaka began his career in 2004 as the host of the off-beat music program On the Fringe, in collaboration with his cousin Zeeshan Pervez. The show aired on Indus Music and later MTV Pakistan.[7]

News, Views & Confused

On 11 April 2007, Zaka started to host and script a political and social satire show[8] on AAJ TV.[9] The show News, Views & Confused was co-hosted by Nadeem F. Paracha and Mohsin Sayeed, and received significant international attention[10] through The Washington Post[3] and other publications[11] for its programmes during the second emergency declared during President Musharraf's rule in 2007 amidst a severe clampdown on press freedom. The show ended its run in 2008.

Columnist

Zaka is currently a weekly opinion editorial writer[12] for The Express Tribune,[13] the paper which also brings out the International Herald Tribune in Pakistan. He used to write as a columnist[14] [15] for the leading Pakistani newspaper, The News International, where he wrote the weekly political opinion[16] editorial column, The Pakistan Report Card and the pop culture criticism column titled His Bigness[17] in the Instep segment of the Sunday edition. He wrote a bi-weekly light humour diary column in the weekly magazine The Friday Times under the heading, Man Friday. As a writer some of his prominent themes have included bringing back rationality into civil dialogue, political satire,[18] [19] debunking conspiracy theories that affect the national discourse[2] in Pakistan.[20]

Radio

Zaka headlines one of Pakistan's most listened to radio[21] [22] shows, The Fasi Zaka and Friends Show, on Pakistan's FM radio station Radio One FM 91, which is aired nationally. The show is aired three times a week, and is known for its absurdist humour and liberal politics[23] embedded in the jokes.

Do Raaye

Zaka returned to television in 2017 alongside Asad Rahim Khan, as coanchor of Do Raaye on Dawn News, a primetime current affairs programme.

Notes and References

  1. News: Anita Joshua. Pakistan: walking a tightrope. The Hindu. 9 February 2011. 18 October 2011.
  2. News: Jenna Fisher. 6 January 2011. How Pakistan views the assassination of Salman Taseer. The Christian Science Monitor. 18 October 2011.
  3. News: Emily Wax. How Pakistan's Satirists Poke Fun, Politically. The Washington Post. 28 November 2007. 18 October 2011.
  4. News: Magnier. Mark. Pakistani shock jock wins over young crowd. 3 May 2017. Los Angeles Times. 2 September 2009.
  5. Web site: Maxwell Hall. World Economic Forum Announces Young Global Leaders for 2012. World Economic Forum. 6 March 2012. 12 May 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141022103423/http://www.weforum.org/news/world-economic-forum-announces-young-global-leaders-2012-5. 22 October 2014.
  6. http://rebeccaconway.wordpress.com/category/pakistan/ Pakistan « Rebecca Conway
  7. Web site: hakim . Classics: Ali Azmat – IM on the Fringe . MicroPakistan . 12 January 2007 . 18 October 2011.
  8. News: Huma Imtiaz . Funny People . Newsline . 13 October 2009 . 18 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111009031218/http://www.newslinemagazine.com/2009/10/funny-people/ . 9 October 2011 . dead .
  9. http://www.aaj.tv/ Aaj TV Online – Pakistan Ki Awaz
  10. Book: The Offensive Art: Political Satire and Its Censorship around the World from Beerbohm to Borat. Leonard Freedman. ABC-CLIO. 2008 . 9780313356018. 138. 18 October 2011.
  11. News: Nirupama Subramanian. Fighting back with comedy and satire. https://web.archive.org/web/20071201104913/http://www.hindu.com/2007/11/23/stories/2007112355391300.htm. dead. 1 December 2007. 23 November 2007. The Hindu. 18 October 2011.
  12. Web site: 6 March 2013. Shiraz Maher. The importance of Pakistan's literary festivals. The Spectator. 12 May 2014.
  13. http://tribune.com.pk The Express Tribune
  14. News: Zara Farooqui. Extinguishing Extremism. Newsline. 5 November 2010. 18 October 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20111009030958/http://www.newslinemagazine.com/2010/11/extinguishing-extremism/. 9 October 2011.
  15. News: The challengers. Hasan Zaidi. 29 November 2007. India Today. 12 May 2014.
  16. News: Laura King. Musharraf may resign in days to avoid trial. Los Angeles Times. 15 August 2008. 18 October 2011.
  17. http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/11/11/world/1247465633296/tuning-out-the-taliban.html?hp Tuning Out the Taliban
  18. Arif, Fatima. (18 June 2009) A Thinking Mind: Fasi Zaka. Fatimaarif.blogspot.com; retrieved 18 October 2011.
  19. Web site: A for [pine]Apple. 7 August 2008. No problems, no conflict, only glory. Islamabad Metblogs. 18 October 2011.
  20. Web site: Jonathan Crowe. The Map Room: Redrawn Middle East Map Generates Controversy in Pakistan. The Map Room. 26 December 2008. 12 May 2014.
  21. News: Kristin Solberg. 12 October 2011. Gjør narr av bakstreverske pakistanere. Norwegian. Make fun of reactionary Pakistanis. Aftenposten. 18 October 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110401111932/http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/uriks/article4076667.ece. 1 April 2011.
  22. News: What the Pakistani people would tell Obama. 5 May 2009. Mark Magnier. Los Angeles Times. 12 May 2014.
  23. News: Declan Walsh . 20 November 2009. Report warns of Pakistan's younger generation losing faith in democracy. The Guardian. 18 October 2011.

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