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 as saying.

Lion of Punjab.
Son of Hindustan.
Lover of Canada.
Speaker of truth.
Fighter for justice.
Voice of the down-trodden, underdogs, and the oppressed.@TarekFatah has passed the baton on… his revolution will continue with all who knew and loved him.
Will you join us?
1949-2023 pic.twitter.com/j0wIi7cOBF

— Natasha Fatah (@NatashaFatah) April 24, 2023

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 Con-servatives in Canada, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders in the US, and the Right wing in India.

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