Amin Hafeez, a correspondent with Geo News in Pakistan, has become a social media sensation owing to his.. umm.. eccentric style of reporting news.
On Tuesday, December 19, Hamid Mir, a senior journalist, posted a clip of Hafeez’s report on the thriving donkey trade in Pakistan. A detailed report that includes facts about the earnings that donkeys bring, the availability free healthcare for donkeys, interviews of donkey-owners and a veterinarian, it soon went viral due to Hafeez ‘risking his life’ towards the end of the report.
Donkey business flourishing in Lahore and look at the way my old Freind Amin Hafeez reporting donkey business by risking his life pic.twitter.com/FHYuQrYOqP
— Hamid Mir حامد میر (@HamidMirPAK) December 19, 2018
Hafeez’s dramatic way of reporting even the most banal occurrences has earned him dedicated fans. Here is Hafeez, reporting on people standing in line to buy tickets for a Pakistan Super League match. Do not miss the part where he straight-up chants with the crowd and shakes a leg.
Singing, dancing, Hafeez is not shy about any of it. If you think a Lahore residents exercising makes for a boring report, think again.
“Lahore ki fazaaon mein kaali ghanghor ghataayein chha gayin. Tez hawaaon mein, parindon ne jhoomna shuru kar diya.” If it’s raining in Lahore, Hafeez is there, getting more than just his feet soaked. This video from 2012 has over 1 lakh views.
Now if only Indian news channels would replace political parties’ spokespersons ready to beat each other up in a shouting match, with a reporter or two like Hafeez, we’d probably start watching the news more often.