Fasi Zaka

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

Fasi Zaka
فصیح زکاء
Zaka in 2022
Born
Charsadda, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan
NationalityPakistan Pakistani
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Political commentator
  • columnist
  • radio talk show host
  • television anchor
Years active2004–present
Employers
Television
  • News, Views & Confused (2007)
  • Do Raaye (2017)

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.

References
  1. Anita Joshua (9 February 2011). "Pakistan: walking a tightrope". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  2. Jenna Fisher (6 January 2011). "How Pakistan views the assassination of Salman Taseer". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  3. Emily Wax (28 November 2007). "How Pakistan's Satirists Poke Fun, Politically". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  4. Magnier, Mark (2 September 2009). "Pakistani shock jock wins over young crowd". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  5. Maxwell Hall (6 March 2012). "World Economic Forum Announces Young Global Leaders for 2012". World Economic Forum. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  6. Pakistan « Rebecca Conway Archived 13 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Rebeccaconway.wordpress.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  7. hakim (12 January 2007). "Classics: Ali Azmat – IM on the Fringe". MicroPakistan. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  8. Huma Imtiaz (13 October 2009). "Funny People". Newsline. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  9. Aaj TV Online – Pakistan Ki Awaz. Aaj.tv (3 October 2011). Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  10. Leonard Freedman (2008). The Offensive Art: Political Satire and Its Censorship around the World from Beerbohm to Borat. ABC-CLIO. p. 138. ISBN 9780313356018. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  11. Nirupama Subramanian (23 November 2007). "Fighting back with comedy and satire". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 December 2007. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  12. Shiraz Maher (6 March 2013). "The importance of Pakistan's literary festivals". The Spectator. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  13. The Express Tribune; retrieved 18 October 2011.
  14. Zara Farooqui (5 November 2010). "Extinguishing Extremism". Newsline. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  15. Hasan Zaidi (29 November 2007). "The challengers". India Today. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  16. Laura King (15 August 2008). "Musharraf may resign in days to avoid trial". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  17. Tuning Out the Taliban. Video.nytimes.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  18. Arif, Fatima. (18 June 2009) A Thinking Mind: Fasi Zaka. Fatimaarif.blogspot.com; retrieved 18 October 2011.
  19. A for [pine]Apple (7 August 2008). "No problems, no conflict, only glory". Islamabad Metblogs. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  20. Jonathan Crowe (26 December 2008). "The Map Room: Redrawn Middle East Map Generates Controversy in Pakistan". The Map Room. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  21. Kristin Solberg (12 October 2011). "Gjør narr av bakstreverske pakistanere" [Make fun of reactionary Pakistanis]. Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  22. Mark Magnier (5 May 2009). "What the Pakistani people would tell Obama". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  23. Declan Walsh (20 November 2009). "Report warns of Pakistan's younger generation losing faith in democracy". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
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