Claim: Several social media users claim that Geo News shut down Tabish Ahmed Hashmi’s programme “Hasna Mana Hai” due to the talk show host’s video statement calling for talks to resolve the 2026 unrest in Kashmir.
Fact: The claim is false. Geo News did not shut down the programme and it continued to air almost daily, with no episodes missed. However, the announcement was a public relations (PR) stunt to introduce a new set for Hashmi’s show.
On 1 and 2 August 2026, several content creators posted videos on social media talking about how Geo News had shut down talk show host and comedian Tabish Hashmi’s programme “Hasna Mana Hai” (HMH) after he spoke about the ongoing violent clashes in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Several users, who appear to be associated with the incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), according to information available on their profiles, also shared the same claim on social media. Among them was also party leader and former deputy speaker of the National Assembly, Qasim Khan Suri, who wrote that Hashmi’s “five-year journey with Geo News has come to an end after speaking out about the atrocities in Azad Kashmir”.
“Those with a clear conscience don’t care about the consequences. Tabish Hashmi is highly commendable for standing on the right side of history,” Suri added.
The videos came in light of Hashmi’s Instagram and Facebook posts from 1 August 2026, when he shared a black-and-white picture of himself on the set with his arms spread wide and superimposed text that reads, “It was great while it lasted 2022-2026.”
The accompanying caption reads as follows:
“It was a pleasure being on National TV for almost 5 years. Ive said my thankyous’ in person to everyone who contributed. To the audience of ‘Hasna Mana Hai’ i will never forget the love that you have shown. Thank you !!”
Prior to that, on 29 July 2026, Hashmi had posted a selfie-style video, in which he spoke about the unrest in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, also known as Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). His remarks — mostly in Urdu — are transcribed as follows:
“I don’t know what would be the consequences of talking about Kashmir. I never know what can be talked about in this country and what can’t be talked about. Regardless, the news we are seeing on social media is very disheartening. No matter what part of Pakistan it happens in, it doesn’t feel good. And what can we do apart from making videos? I am just doing my part. I am expressing my pain. If my voice can stop it, then I pray to God that it stops.
“In both places, both parties, whoever is involved — I’m not even sure how many are involved — but all the parties involved, please hold talks. For God’s sake, they are our own people. They laugh with us, they cry with us. Just like us, they are sad at Pakistan’s losses. Sit down and talk.
“There are other problems in this country, in this world; let’s pay attention to them together instead of doing this to each other. I hope that sense prevails on all sides. And Pakistan should emerge as a unified force in the world. What else can I even say?”
Unrest, violence in Kashmir
Ahead of the general elections in AJK that were boycotted by the opposition parties, the region erupted in severe unrest and deadly clashes.
The elections were originally scheduled to take place in one round on 27 July but later divided into three phases owing to security concerns. The successive polls were nonetheless marred by sporadic instances of violence. The third one is scheduled for 10 August.
Security forces imposed a significant crackdown on the protests, led by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), that were sparked by long-held political and economic grievances.
The JAAC has alleged that at least 31 of its protesters have been killed and 400 injured amid the clashes, Arab News reported. Umar Nazir Kashmiri, a core member of the group, accused the government of opening “fire on unarmed demonstrators” as they marched toward Muzaffarabad, it added.
Since the beginning of the unrest in June, “more than 45 people have been killed and hundreds injured”, according to Al Jazeera.
Read our background on the clashes in Pakistan-administered Kashmir here.
A 29 July report by Dawn quoted AJK Police spokesperson, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Riaz Mughal, as saying, “In 2026 only, 26 of our personnel were martyred, while 157 were seriously injured, and 629 faced minor injuries.” JAAC had snipers amongst them and that almost 70% of the protesters were “criminals”, he alleged.
Rights organisations like Amnesty International and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) reported heavy use of lethal force against demonstrators, alongside communication and Internet blackouts across major areas, such as Mirpur and Rawalakot.
On 2 August, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry’s External Publicity (EP) Wing issued “Foreign Media Facilitation Guidelines, 2026.”
The guidelines require “all foreign or international print, electronic, and digital media, including social media & web based platforms”, to register themselves with the EP Wing and obtain a no-objection “official assignment especially for the work outside Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi”. The ministry said the accreditation may be suspended or cancelled if it “acts against the ideology, sovereignty, security, or public order of Pakistan”, among other reasons.
See a report by Soch Fact Check’s sister organisation, Soch Videos, on the new guidelines here.
The same day, the ministry posted an advisory on X (formerly Twitter), saying Al Jazeera engaged in “selective reporting” and “yellow journalism” and that it “sought to misrepresent the AJK elections and the voting process”. It added that the international media outlet’s news stories “confirm(ed) the agenda of external actors with vested interests”.
Al Jazeera’s website is now inaccessible in Pakistan; however, its social media channels can be viewed without any issues.
Amnesty also urged the Pakistani government to “lift communications blackout” and “allow media and independent observers into the area” in order to conduct an “independent verification of the full extent of the situation on the ground”.
The UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has called for “prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into all deaths that have occurred due to the unrest, both amongst protesters and members of security forces”, according to spokesperson Jeremy Laurence.
The BBC said there was an atmosphere of fear among the population and that the vehicles and property of the candidates contesting the AJK elections “have been set on fire, while some candidates were subjected to violence”, while attributing the blame to the JAAC.
On the other hand, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar accused India of providing “funds and instructions” for the protests, The Guardian reported.
According to The Express Tribune, the federal and AJK governments have claimed that militants — especially “Fitna al-Khawarij” — have infiltrated the demonstrations in the region, that weapons were recovered from protesters, and that “they had opened fire on security forces”.
“Fitna al-Khawarij” is a term the government uses to refer to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban.
Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry spoke alongside Tarar during the 28 July press conference, saying that those participating in the demonstrations would not be considered “protesters but rioters” and urging citizens to stay away and safe from the government crackdown.
Chaudhry also promised “ all-out support to [the] AJK government for maintaining peace and order”, according to the state-run Radio Pakistan.
On 30 July, the AJK Assembly adopted a formal resolution calling for the immediate establishment of an independent, impartial Truth Commission to “investigate the recent unrest, examine all deaths, injuries and property losses, and recommend relief and reforms”.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check found that “Hasna Mana Hai” never went off air and has continued, with new almost daily episodes from August 2026 available here, here, here, and here.
On 2 August, nearly 24 hours after Hashmi’s “It was great while it lasted” posts, the Instagram and Facebook accounts of “Hasna Mana Hai” posted an announcement saying the show would continue and that their set had been updated. The accompanying caption reads as follows:
“𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗛𝗠𝗛 𝗞𝗮 𝗦̶𝗼̶𝗳̶𝘁̶𝘄̶𝗮̶𝗿̶𝗲̶ 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗛𝗼 𝗚𝗮𝘆𝗮 𝗛𝗮𝗶. Watch brand new HMH with the same old Tabish Hashmi only on Geo TV Network.”
The word “software” is written as struckthrough text, indicating a play on the phrase “software update,” which is Pakistani slang for anyone — particularly journalists, activists, and politicians — who abruptly changes their critical or dissenting viewpoint allegedly after being legally or illegally arrested or detained.
However, it is not possible to confirm or deny if Hashmi or Geo News faced any backlash from the authorities. But it is clear that the claim is misleading as the channel did not shut down “Hasna Mana Hai” and the ominous posts by the talk show host were the channel’s PR stunt to introduce a new set for the show.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found dozens of Facebook posts that made the claim.
At least six posts on Instagram, 10 on Threads, and five on X also shared the claim.
It was also shared by multiple pages and users that appear to be supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), as well as party leader and the National Assembly’s former deputy speaker Qasim Khan Suri.
Multiple Indian websites also picked up on the false narrative and published reports about it; these include Tribune India, The Print, and Hindustan Times.
It also appeared on the website of India’s news summarising mobile app Inshorts.
Conclusion: Geo News did not shut down the programme; the announcement was a PR stunt to introduce a new set for Hashmi’s show.
Cover photo: Soch Fact Check / Tabish Hashmi
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com