KARACHI: MNA and famous television show host but a controversial figure Aamir Liaquat Hussain has passed away in Karachi on Thursday. He was 50.
The police officer said Husain’s condition deteriorated early in the morning after which he was taken to the Aga Khan University Hospital, where he was later declared dead.
He added that preliminary reports show no foul play, however, a post-mortem examination of the politician will be conducted at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.
Meanwhile, National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf adjourned the session, which started earlier Wednesday, till 5pm on Friday after receiving news of the lawmaker’s death. Hussain is survived by two children and was married thrice.
Meanwhile, SSP investigation Altaf Hussain said police had not made any arrests. He said officials were recording the statement of a member of the deceased lawmaker’s household staff.
Speaking to reporters outside Hussain’s residence, the senior officer said investigators had collected samples from the house and sent them to the laboratory for examination. In response to a question, SSP Altaf said further details would only be confirmed once police received the post-mortem report.
Faisal Hussain, a close friend of the deceased lawmaker, said that Hussain was disturbed after a video featuring him in a state of undress went viral on social media. He went on to say that Hussain was also upset as no channel had approached him for hosting a Ramazan programme this year.
“Aamir remained a controversial personality for various reasons,” Faisal said, adding that there were several question marks regarding his academic and religious qualifications.
He went on to say that the late lawmaker’s family was reluctant to conduct a post-mortem report. He said that the body had been shifted to the Chhipa morgue for now as arrangements had not yet been made for his funeral.
“His parents were buried at the Abdullah Shah Ghazi graveyard and it is likely that he will be laid to rest there,” Faisal said.
Career and personal life
He joined the PTI in March 2018 and was elected as MNA from Karachi in the general elections held later that year. He had later fallen out with the party.
He had earlier been a key leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and had parted ways with the party in August 2016, saying at the time that he would be leaving politics.
Hussain’s true claim to fame, however, came from the years he spent in the media limelight. In 2001, he joined Geo TV where he hosted Aalim Online, a religious programme that gained him a large following.
In the years that followed, Hussain hosted Ramazan transmissions on both Geo TV and Bol News. The last show he hosted was Bol House with Amir Liaquat.
His antics in his Ramazan transmissions were fodder for social media memes, and contributed an air of infamy to his stature.
He faced multiple controversies in his career as a television host. A number of his shows were temporarily banned by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) over hate speech. In 2018, the Islamabad High Court had barred him from making any appearance on electronic media.
Hussain’s love life had also remained at the centre of the public’s fascination. His last two marriages — and very public separations — dominated news cycles and social media chatter.
Third wife Syeda Dania SAhah
On 7th May this year, Aamir Liaquat’s third wife Syeda Dania Shah says she has approached a court for separation from former the PTI MNA. She took to her Instagram stories on Saturday to announce the news.
She said that details and proof, including documents, will be shared via the media.
In her application, a copy of which is available with Images, she accused Liaquat of forcing her to make adult videos to “send to people abroad” and locking her up for five days if she refused to do it. She also said he “forced her to appear before non-mehram men”. She also accused him of being impotent and consuming drugs.
In an exclusive interview with Dunya News, Shah said, “he (Liaquat) was very cruel. He would lock me in the room for four days straight. He wouldn’t give food to me on time and would keep me up all night long. I’m a child, I’m not even old enough. He would humiliate me. He would bring every single matter to me, be it the maids or even the media, anything he disliked, he would misbehave with me. He used to push me around and even threatened that he would shoot me. He even tried to strangle me.”
Shah told the media outlet that Liaquat abused her and at the time she felt like she was being punished. She likened the experience to having been in “hell” and said that if anyone from her family was harmed, Liaquat would be responsible.
Liaquat took to Instagram and shared a video of Shah that he claimed is two days old in which she denied news of the divorce and asked people to leave them in peace if they couldn’t wish them well. Liaquat said if they hadn’t contracted a nikah, he would’ve revealed the “truth” to the entire nation, which he claimed would shock everyone. He requested journalists and the media to investigate Shah’s appearance in order to judge if he could’ve harmed her in these three months.
“I request to let me run some tests whether or not I consume alcohol. I’ve never consumed crystal methamphetamine (Ice). But now what I’m about to share is far worse and even more terrible, wait for it,” he wrote while requesting Shah to get a medical report to support her claims.
A few weeks ago, Shah and Liaquat had denied rumours of a divorce by sharing a video of Shah addressing the rumours. The video has since been deleted.
Liaquat, 49, and Shah, 18, got married in Feb this year. The news broke less than 24 hours after Syeda Tuba Anwar announced her divorce from Liaquat.