Zafar Aafaq | Clarion India
NEW DELHI – After a series of queries from social media users, the Khaleej Times, on Saturday, cleared the air around speculations over the link of the newspaper with Sudhir Chaudhry. The paper denied any link with the controversial editor of Zee group.
Mustafa Al Zarooni, editor of the prestigious Gulf newspaper, took to twitter to explain the position of the newspaper with regard to the event held in March in which Chaudhary represented Wion News Channel – the main stakeholder of what was called Wion Global Summit 2020.
Activists against hate had raised a hue and cry over the invitation of Chaudhary to the United Arab Emirates at a time when Muslims were out on the streets in India protesting against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The editor cum TV anchor of Zee News is often accused of propagating hate and fake news on his channels which fuels violence against ordinary Muslims in India.
In response to a query, Zarooni posted a series of tweets to explain KT’s position. He claimed that his newspaper was the media partner of the event and was not involved in the invitation of Chaudhary.
“Khaleej Times was the media partner at an event in February in Dubai where HE Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Cabinet Member and Minister of Tolerance, UAE, was the chief guest. That was the extent of our association with this event, “Unleashing the Power of South Asia”. KT neither invited nor felicitated any speakers at the event,” he explained.
Dear all,
To set the record straight, @khaleejtimes was the media partner at an event in February in Dubai where HE Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Cabinet Member and Minister of Tolerance, UAE, was the chief guest. That was the extent of our association with this event, https://t.co/H7QZs7MqXs— مصطفى الزرعوني (@MustafaAlzaroni) May 9, 2020
He said the newspaper “firmly believes in and echoes the UAE’s ideals of tolerance and peace, and we oppose all kinds of hate speech and discrimination on any basis.”
#WIONGlobalSummit 2020 in #dubai covered extensively in today’s @khaleejtimes @WIONews pic.twitter.com/gONejmNPR3
— Sudhir Chaudhary (@sudhirchaudhary) March 6, 2020
Chaudhary was booked by police in Kozhikode, Kerala on charges of ‘offending religious beliefs’ on his TV shows by presenting a flow chart on different forms of jihad that he alleged Muslim community has launched to break India into pieces.
This is big. Khaleej Times disassociates itself from India’s Zee/WION and it’s editor Sudhir Chaudhary, known for hate speech against minorities. Says participation was limited to a one off event & it “opposes all kinds of hate speech and discrimination” https://t.co/WSVEi8WJmO
— Yeh Log ! (@yehlog) May 9, 2020
