Watchdog considers probe into BBC’s Pakistan comedy

LONDON: Britain’s television watchdog Ofcom is considering launching an investigation into BBC1’s Citizen Khan, a comedy which has been accused of stereotyping Pakistanis and insulting Islam.
The TV regulator told The News on Thursday that it had received complaints about the sitcom and will make a decision soon whether the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has broken any UK broadcasting rules.
The BBC is in the eye of a storm as reaction to its sitcom on Pakistanis has been described as racist, insulting to Muslims and Pakistanis.After the first episode went on air, more than 200 people have complained to the BBC, accusing the corporation of insulting Muslims and peddling negative stereotypes about Pakistanis, while using public money.
The six-part series has been rejected right across the board by critics, with them describing it as outdated. Time Out Magazine, Independent, Guardian and Socialist Worker are some diverse media organisations who give it poor reviews. Pakistanis and Muslims have already taken to the social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to vent their anger at the agenda-driven portrayal of Pakistanis in a negative light.
To make the matters worse, in every short of the series, it has been ensured by the BBC that Pakistani flags are hanging in the background to ensure that the viewers get a definite idea that the characters and the stories are about Pakistan and not be confused generally as Asians.
Complaining to the BBC, viewers have said that the sitcom “takes the mickey out of Islam” and is guilty of “stereotypes about Asians”. In one scene, heavily-made up disco girl, Mr Khan’s daughter rushed to put on a hijab and started reading the holy book of Quran as soon as her father entered the room.
The series follows the fortunes of a Pakistani community leader in Sparkhill, Birmingham, a heavily Pakistani populated area. The comedy mocks Mr Khan’s self-importance, including his delusions about his position in Pakistani community and about his standing in the business world. It shows Mr Khan wearing a Jinnah cap and donning a three-piece suit which was worn in 50s. The overriding theme of the first episode centred around repeating stereotypes about British Pakistanis such as troubled wedding plans (in this instance, of one of Mr Khan’s daughters, Shazia).
When contacted by The News, a spokesperson at the BBC defended the sitcom, saying: “Citizen Khan is a comedy and new comedy often provokes differing reactions from the audience. We’ve received many appreciations in praise of the show as well as comments from those who don’t like it. As with all sitcoms, the characters are comic creations and are not meant to be representative of the community as a whole.”