Ahmadi persecution, blasphemy law and other things Hamza Ali Abbasi will discuss on his bold Ramazan show

When we found out Hamza Ali Abbasi was going to be doing night-time Ramazan television, we were curious. We wondered whether he was going to succumb to being a regular host, handing out Q-Mobiles or blaze his own trail.

Obviously, he's going for the latter.

The actor has made headlines many times in the past for his penchant for writing exactly what he feels on his Facebook account and now, it seems like he's using his popularity to bring causes close to his heart to our television screens.

Hamza, who co-hosts the post-Iftar transmission, Ramzan Hamara Emaan with Aisha Khan for Aaj TV, revealed in a recent episode that he will be discussing the Ahmadi community and blasphemy laws at the end of the holy month on his show in more detail.

Talking to Images, the Pyaray Afzal leading man reveals, "Whether the state has the right to declare a group of people non-Muslims is a long debate. My point of concern as a Muslim and a Pakistani is that if you can freely talk in the media about the plight of every other community in Pakistan, why can't we talk about the suffering of Ahmadis?"

"Why is Ahmadi such a taboo word? Ideological stances aside, my only goal is that when an Ahmadi is killed or persecuted, the media shouldn't be scared to talk about it."

The bold move drew support from various others in the fraternity; fellow activist Mohammad Jibran Nasir lauded his efforts but also had a question about Hamza's views conflicting with those of his political icon, Imran Khan.

We couldn't help but ask Hamza the same thing. He calmly explains: "Imran Khan's personal view about Ahmadis is that they are non-Muslim and he has the right to think that. However, he has also categorically said that while the constitution declares them as such, the constitution as a human and a Pakistani gives them equal rights vis-à-vis safety safety of their life and property."

"He has also said very clearly that we need to address issues like education, poverty, health, corruption and rule of law. When these issues are sorted, every Muslim and non-Muslim, as well as other communities will feel safeguarded."

Was it a conscious effort to keep up his Facebook advocate persona?

"I am who I am, I have only one persona. I'm grateful that the producers accepted me as who I am without asking me to become a typical Ramazan show host. You can expect to see discussions on an array of topics that, in my humble opinion, are rarely discussed."