Hum Awards, scheduled to be held in Toronto this Saturday have caused quite an uproar on social media as fans and audiences are not pleased with the channel’s decision to fly out some of the country’s most prominent stars for the ‘rehearsals’ just two days before the elections.
While, several actors including Yasir Hussain, Ahmad Ali Butt and Saheefa Jabbar Khattak defended themselves and their colleagues currently in Canada for the awards, others like Mahira Khan and Hania Aamir expressed their regret for not being able to cast their vote. However, the public did not buy any of this and called for the boycott of the channel and stars.
Nonetheless, Hum TV has finally released an official statement saying that it was not possible to change the date of the awards which was decided six months ago when the election dates were not announced and the resources committed to the event prevented them from rescheduling the event dates. They said that the channel had “contracts with various parties and people in Canada” and they did not want to break them as they represent Pakistan.
They added, “It is worth mentioning here that most of the artists participating in the Awards have cast their votes today and then left for the Awards. However some had to leave earlier as they were required for rehearsals. It was a matter of prior commitment for them also.”
Hum TV further said that the channel was committed to towards “building the Pakistani brand on the global stage” and “are confident that this event will go a long way in portraying a soft image of Pakistan globally and make all of us proud of being Pakistani.”
To read more on the controversy, click here.