Pakistan-born veteran journalist Tarek Fatah passes away in Canada

Columnist Tarek Fatah passed away in Canada on Monday after a prolonged battle with cancer, The Hindustan Times reported, quoting his daughter.

“Lion of Punjab. Son of Hindustan. Lover of Canada. Speaker of truth. Fighter for justice. Voice of the down-trodden, underdogs, and the oppressed. Tarek Fatah has passed the baton on… his revolution will continue with all who knew and loved him. Will you join us? 1949-2023,” Fatah’s daughter Natasha, herself a journalist, shared the news on Twitter.

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Tarek Fatah was born in Karachi, Pakistan before emigrating to Canada in 1987.

He was a columnist and radio and television commentator, both in Canada and abroad, with a huge social media following, the Toronto Sun wrote.

Fatah, who died at 73, was also a political activist with fiercely right-wing views. He termed himself “a secular Muslim” and was especially critical of Pakistan, and an advocate for the Baloch separatist movement, fighting for an independent Balochistan state.

Fatah was a deeply divisive figure, but never seemed deterred by controversy. He was criticized for peddling ‘fake news,’ The Quint reported.

He was also a vocal supporter of several conspiracy theories, and often took up contrarian positions.

At various times, he supported the NDP, Liberals and the Conservatives in Canada, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders in the US, and the Right wing in India.

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