Anwar Maqsood's witty response to 'fake news'

Fake news circulating on social media has made “my life hell”, Anwar Maqsood, Pakistan's legendary scriptwriter, host, satirist and humorist, said.

During the past few days, reports emerged that Maqsood was allegedly abducted a couple of days ago, where he was threatened, tortured, and slapped to stop him from speaking against the incumbent government and their “facilitators”.

In response, the noted showbiz personality had issued a brief statement through his son, Bilal Maqsood, that such reports were “baseless” and condemned all those spreading such news without verification.

The famous writer, in a now detailed video statement, said: “During the recent days, some reports were rife due to which my life had become hell. I have fans across the world; people from different countries and cities were inquiring about my well-being. I’m fine.”

The satirist informed his fans that whatever they’ve heard was untrue and “it will never happen”. He added: “I’m 84 years old. I won’t keep breathing if I’m slapped.”

The scriptwriter, responding to claims that he had been subjected to severe beating, said nothing of the sort had happened. “I love my soldiers who are sacrificing their lives for us. I’m not saying this on anyone’s instructions, I’m saying this from my heart.”

Maqsood reminded his fans that he had a basic phone, which did not even have a camera. He wondered how he could tweet without having a smartphone.

“42 fake accounts are running on social media with my name and image. I told the FIA, police to bring those accounts down, but they said they couldn’t do anything,” he added.

“But until my last breath, I will keep working for you [fans] and Pakistan,” he further said.