Mansoor Ali Khan (journalist)

Mansoor Ali Khan
Born (1976-04-22) 22 April 1976 (age 48)
EducationAitchison College
Government College University
Virtual University (MSc)
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • broadcaster
  • podcaster
Years active2007–present
Employers
Television
  • To the Point with Mansoor Ali Khan
  • Meray Sawaal
Children3
RelativesYazdan Khan family
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2019–present
Genres
  • News
  • politics
  • current affairs
Subscribers570,000[1]
Total views208.1 million[1]
100,000 subscribers

Last updated: 10 June 2023

Mansoor Ali Khan (Urdu: منصور علی خان; born 22 April 1976) is a Pakistani journalist, television anchor, video blogger and podcaster.

He began his career in 2007 as a sports journalist for Dawn News and CNBC Pakistan, and joined Geo News in 2008, where he was based as a newscaster and anchorman for six years. He worked briefly for Star Asia News, BOL Network and ARY News, and joined Express News in 2016, hosting the current affairs talk show To the Point with Mansoor Ali Khan (2016–2022). Khan then hosted the talk show Meray Sawaal (2022–2023) for Samaa TV and is currently affiliated with Hum News since June 2023.

In addition to his presence on television, Khan also maintains a YouTube channel focusing on news, politics and current affairs.

Early life and education

Mansoor Ali Khan was born on 22 April 1976, the son of Shaukat Ali Khan.[2][3] His father ran an electronics business and is a Punjabi from Lahore, while his mother is an ethnic Hazara from Quetta.[4][5][6] On his maternal side, he is a great-grandson of the Hazara tribal chief, Yazdan Khan and grandson of the army general Musa Khan;[7][8] a nephew of the squash player and golfer Hassan Musa, and of Air-Marshal Sharbat Ali Changezi;[9][10] and cousin of Mehdi Hassan Musa, a former provincial minister in Balochistan.[11]

Khan completed his schooling from Aitchison College in Lahore in 1995, before going on to study at Government College University, where he majored in political science, history and English literature in 1999.[12][13][2] During his studies, he was an avid swimmer, performing at the national level.[4][5] In 2020, Khan obtained a master's degree in media studies from the Virtual University of Pakistan.[14]

Journalistic career

Khan began his career on television as a sports journalist and broadcaster for the English-language Dawn News in 2007.[5] He had a brief stint as a producer and sports show host on CNBC Pakistan, before joining the Urdu channel Geo News as a newscaster and anchorperson in October 2008, based in Karachi.[2][15][16] During his time at Geo, he notably covered the Lawyers' Movement in Pakistan, the 2009 T20 Cricket World Cup and the operation against Osama bin Laden in 2011.[12] In addition, he made appearances on Star Asia News as a sports reporter.[2] In 2012, he travelled to the United States to cover the U.S. presidential election for WTTW, featuring on Chicago Tonight as an international exchange journalist.[17][18]

In December 2014, Khan left Geo and joined the upcoming news channel BOL Network as a content manager and anchorman.[12][15] In August 2015, he parted ways with the media group in the aftermath of the Axact scandal and issued a statement, announcing that he had joined ARY News as a senior anchorman.[12][19] He worked at ARY for one year, before taking up a new role with Express News in Islamabad in August 2016, hosting To the Point with Mansoor Ali Khan; a political and current affairs talk show aired at primetime.[16][20] After a tenure of almost six years with Express, Khan moved to Samaa TV in May 2022, holding the slot for the talk show Meray Sawaal (lit. "my questions").[21][22] He served with Samaa for 11 months, until eventually tendering his resignation in May 2023 and joining Hum News the following month.[23][24]

Khan is known for his hard-hitting questions and journalistic style.[25][26] Alongside his talk show, he also runs his personal YouTube channels, where he offers his analysis on Pakistani news and politics through vlogs and podcasts.[27] As of June 2023, his main channel had crossed over 570,000 subscribers.[28]

Controversies

In her 2018 memoir, Reham Khan – the former wife of politician Imran Khan – addresses the tabloid rumours attributed to the breakdown of her marriage with Imran, including one where she was accused of "poisoning" Imran, causing him to become hospitalised in 2015. Reham claims that her former husband had in fact been hospitalised due to substance abuse, and credits Mansoor Ali Khan for "digging out the original report from the hospital" to clarify her position in the media; an act that allegedly earned Mansoor a reprimanding phone call from Imran's sister, Aleema Khan.[29] Whilst acknowledging his role in reporting the story of Khan's hospitalisation, Mansoor has denied that he was ever contacted by Aleema Khan and has raised questions about the accuracy of Reham's book.[30]

In March 2020, Khan and his family were trolled online by anti-feminist groups after pictures of him and his wife attending an Aurat March rally in Lahore surfaced on social media. Reacting to the trolling, Khan said that despite his detractors' attempts, his stance and support for the movement "won't move an inch".[31][32][25] Mansoor's critique of Imran Khan and his political party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has often invited backlash and trolling from members and supporters of the party.[33][34][35] He is known to frequently address Imran as mera kaptaan (lit. "my captain"), a popular, tongue-in-cheek reference to his nickname.[36] He subsequently shared that when he confronted Imran about his use of the moniker, Imran did not object to it.[5] In April 2022, a senior producer working with Khan at Express News, Faisal Rao, resigned from his position citing differences of opinion with Khan's political views.[36]

In March 2023, Khan interviewed PML-N political leader Maryam Nawaz for a podcast on his YouTube channel, from which an off-air segment was later leaked onto social media and became viral.[37] In the segment, Khan is noted to have questioned Maryam about gifts that she and her father, former premier Nawaz Sharif, had allegedly acquired from foreign dignitaries while in government, in contravention of the laws governing official gifts and the legal process to retain them. Maryam denied knowing about such gifts and responded that she could not entertain Khan's question without having access to the facts behind the allegations. She requested Khan to keep the conversation off-the-record. The leaked video, which landed Maryam in hot water amongst opposition politicians, evoked a clarification from Khan.[38][39] Condemning the leak as "unethical", Khan explained that the segment had been omitted because he did not have the consent of the interviewee. Accepting responsibility for the incident, he attributed the leak to a breach of data.[27][40] Khan's resignation in May from his television channel, Samaa TV, and his subsequent joining at Hum News sparked rumours that the video leak may have led to his ousting from the channel.[23] However, Khan rebuffed these speculations, stating that he had simply resigned to take up "a promising career opportunity".[41][42]

Personal life

Khan is married and has three sons.[25][5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "About Mansoor Ali Khan". YouTube.
  2. ^ a b c d "Mansoor Ali Khan – Chicago Tonight". WTTW. 5 July 2013. Archived from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Mansoor Ali Khan brief biography". Pakistan Media Updates. 12 April 2016. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b "The Current Life with Mansoor Ali Khan". The Current. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2022 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ a b c d e Warraich, Farrukh Shahbaz (20 January 2022). "Mansoor Ali Khan Ka Ghar Kitna Bara Ha? Kitni Cars Hain or Kitna Luxury Lifestyle Ha?". UrduPoint (in Urdu). Retrieved 14 June 2023 – via YouTube. My father ran a family electronics business established in the 1960s. I worked in this business for 7–8 years before joining the media industry...
  6. ^ Khan, Mansoor Ali (6 January 2021). "Where is Imran Khan? Hazara Community waits for Kaptan" (in Urdu). Retrieved 14 June 2023 – via YouTube. Very few people know that I have a connection with the Hazara community. My mother belonged to the Hazara community and I grew up amongst them...
  7. ^ Khan, Mansoor Ali [@_Mansoor_Ali] (7 September 2017). "More than 80% of Gen Musa Khan's family has migrated to US and Canada due to life threats" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2023 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Monsutti, Alessandro (2005). War and Migration: Social Networks and Economic Strategies of the Hazaras of Afghanistan. Taylor & Francis. p. 90. ISBN 9781135486761. Sardar Yazdan Khan and his sons, General Musa Khan, Sardar Isa Khan and Sardar Isaq Khan, who long dominated political life among the Hazaras of Quetta, also originated in that tribal section.
  9. ^ Yusufzai, Rahimullah (2013). "The first priority is security". The News. Archived from the original on 29 March 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2023. Gen Musa's son Hasan Musa was target-killed in Karachi in 1998...
  10. ^ Yusufzai, Rahimullah (2013). "Hazaras' thousand woes". The News. Archived from the original on 29 March 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2023. Musa's son-in-law Air Marshal Sharbat Ali Changezi was another member of the Hazara ethnic group...
  11. ^ Javed, Saleem (27 January 2017). "(Dis)carded". The Friday Times. Archived from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023. Sardar Mehdi Hassan Musa, a former provincial minister, referring to his grandfather, Gen. Musa Khan Hazara...
  12. ^ a b c d Jawaid, Wajiha (17 August 2015). "Mansoor Ali Khan resigns from Bol, joins ARY News". Hip in Pakistan. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  13. ^ Munj, Suneel (6 September 2022). "Nissan Note e-Power Owners Review With Mansoor Ali Khan". PakWheels (in Urdu). Retrieved 14 June 2023 – via YouTube. Mansoor and I were classfellows in Government College...
  14. ^ "Success Stories". Virtual University of Pakistan. 18 November 2021. Archived from the original on 12 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  15. ^ a b "That's all for now - Mansoor bids adieu to Geo News". Journalism Pakistan. 30 November 2014. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Mansoor Ali Khan leaves ARY, joins Express News". Journalism Pakistan. 5 August 2016. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  17. ^ "Mansoor Ali Khan – A Foreign Perspective". WTTW. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  18. ^ "Mansoor Ali Khan". WTTW. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  19. ^ "News anchor Mansoor Ali Khan joins ARY News". Pakistan Media Updates. 16 August 2015. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  20. ^ "Mansoor set to go on air on Express News with 'To the Point'". Journalism Pakistan. 6 September 2016. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  21. ^ "Mansoor Ali Khan joins Samaa". Journalism Pakistan. 20 May 2022. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  22. ^ "Videos - Meray Sawaal". Samaa English. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  23. ^ a b "سینئر صحافی منصور علی خان نے سماءنیوز سے استعفیٰ دیدیا لیکن کیوں؟ حیران کن دعویٰ". Daily Pakistan (in Urdu). 5 May 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  24. ^ "سینئر صحافی منصور علی خان ہم نیوز کے ساتھ منسلک". Hum News (in Urdu). 3 June 2023. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  25. ^ a b c "Mansoor Ali Khan opens up about being trolled over attending the Aurat March". The Current. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  26. ^ Peerzada, Yasir (1 August 2021). "مردوں کے دماغ میں ایک 'چِپ' لگا دیں". Geo News (in Urdu). Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  27. ^ a b "Mansoor Ali Khan clarifies why he edited out Maryam Nawaz's answer to BMW question". Daily Pakistan. 11 April 2023. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  28. ^ "Mansoor Ali Khan". Retrieved 14 June 2023 – via YouTube.
  29. ^ Khan, Reham (2018). Reham Khan. HarperCollins Publishers India. ISBN 9789353023225. The media was accusing me of poisoning my ex-husband and all I could do was stay silent. Mansoor Ali Khan, a leading anchor, dug out the original report from the hospital to clarify my position and immediately received a call from Aleema, reprimanding him.
  30. ^ Khan, Mansoor Ali (12 February 2022). "Gharidah Farooqi's Show: Allegations on Murad Saeed. Mention of Mansoor Ali Khan in Reham Khans Book" (in Urdu). Retrieved 14 June 2023 – via YouTube.
  31. ^ "AFP Fact Check: A photo from Lahore's Aurat March of a TV anchor, his wife has been doctored". Dawn. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  32. ^ "Mansoor Ali Khan busts doctored images of his family at Aurat March". Global Village Space. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  33. ^ "فیصل واوڈا نے ٹویٹر پر اینکر منصور علی خان کو گالی دے دی". Naya Daur (in Urdu). 28 October 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  34. ^ Sattar, Abdul (3 December 2020). "فہرست کا اجراء: صحافتی برادری کو تشویش". DW (in Urdu). Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  35. ^ "'یہ ویڈیو ذرا بند کریں' انٹرویو میں توشہ خانہ سے گاڑی لینے کا سوال، مریم نواز کی ویڈیو وائرل". Dawn News (in Urdu). 11 April 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  36. ^ a b "اینکر منصور خان کے سابق پروڈیوسر کے سنسنی خیز انکشافات". News360 (in Urdu). 19 April 2022. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  37. ^ Ansar, Asiya (11 April 2023). "مریم نواز کا 'لیکڈ' انٹرویو کلپ: ریکارڈنگ روکنے کی درخواست کے باوجود کیمرہ آن رکھنے پر صحافتی اصول کیا کہتے ہیں؟". BBC Urdu (in Urdu). Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  38. ^ "'Real bombshell': Edited part of Maryam Nawaz's interview with Mansoor Ali Khan leaked online". The News. 11 April 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  39. ^ "Maryam Nawaz responds to her leaked interview clips amid online trolling". Pakistan Observer. 11 April 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  40. ^ "Maryam Nawaz defends herself after leaked clip of Mansoor Ali Khan interview goes viral". Global Village Space. 11 April 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  41. ^ Faizan, Omar (4 May 2023). "سما ٹی وی نے نکالا نہیں میں نے خود چھوڑ دیا: منصور علی خان". Independent Urdu (in Urdu). Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  42. ^ "مریم نواز کے پروگرام کی لیکس کے معاملے پر چینل چھوڑنے کی افواہیں ، سینئر صحافی منصور علی خان نے خاموشی توڑ دی". Daily Pakistan (in Urdu). 5 May 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.