Earlier this week, domestic violence allegations against Feroz Khan were substantiated with evidence produced in court by his estranged wife Aliza Sultan. Since then while many members of the acting fraternity have lent their support to Aliza, who is currently tied up in a court battle with Feroz over divorce and custody issues. However, there has been a deafening silence from production houses and all leading TV channels on the matter.
The allegations had first been made public when Aliza Sultan announced that she and her husband have been separated. However, social media was taken by storm when photographic evidence and medico-legal reports were submitted in court to support the claim.
Since then, Iqra Aziz, a leading actress, has recused herself from playing the lead female role against Khan in an upcoming project.
Other actors, including Ushna Shah, Anushay Ashraf, Meerub, Aimen Khan, Usman Mukhtar, Osman Khalid Butt, Asim Azhar and Yasir Hussain have also spoken up on the matter on social media. Sonia Mishal, another emerging actor also took to Instagram to call out Khan’s sisters Umaima Malik and Dua Malik, both of whom are actors for not only shielding their brother but also remaining silent on the matter, which essentially counts as lending support to a perpetrator.
I am still processing this and am in a state of shock. Nothing can and will justify violence against a woman. My heart is with Alizah as well as Sultan, and Fatima.
Ushna
— Ushna Shah (@ushnashah) October 25, 2022
As is nearly always the case in matters pertaining to accusations of violence, Feroz Khan, who has been posting pictures from his recent Umrah trip, has put out a generic statement denying Ailza’s “accusations” and claimed that he is a “law-abiding citizen”.
While the acting fraternity is lending its support to Aliza, TV Channels and producers have largely remained silent on the matter. HUM TV on Tuesday aired the latest episode of drama Habs as per usual, where Feroz plays the lead character.
The only person from the habs team to speak out on the matter was Mussadiq Malik, the director of the show.
While the fact that a lot of time, effort and capital goes into creating a show is not lost on the masses, the channel and production house not putting out a statement on the matter has brought a lot of criticism towards them.