Dr Affan gets legal notice over ‘cancerous watermelon’ comments

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani YouTuber Dr Affan Qaiser has been served a legal notice by the business community, demanding he apologise on his channel or face a claim of Rs100 million in damages for hosting a programme on “vaccinating watermelons”.

The Faisalabad Traders Association has also filed an application for a case against Dr Affan at the Ghulam Muhammad Police Station.

The legal notice, which surfaced on social media on Tuesday, has been served through advocate Muhammad Naveed Asif. The notice addresses Dr Affan Qaiser, stating that “a few days ago, you said on your YouTube channel that vendors inoculate watermelons to make them red, which causes many diseases, including cancer.”

The notice further said that “Thousands of people working in markets across Pakistan have lost billions of rupees due to this programme.”

It also mentioned that “this statement caused fear and panic in the country, also defaming Pakistan. There has been no case of someone getting cancer from eating watermelon, and the Punjab Food Department has declared this claim false.”

Also read: Man dead in quarrel over watermelon price

Dr Affan has been given 10 days to apologise on his YouTube channel or face a claim of Rs100 million in damages. However, he has not yet responded to the notice.

Dr Affan became famous on social media in 2022 when he described samosas as “atomic bombs of calories.” Since then, he has frequently shared opinions on various food items. He also tweets about food-related topics on X (formerly Twitter).

Although his comments on samosas led to memes and criticism, this is the first time a legal notice has been sent to him following a show on watermelons.

The demand for watermelons in Pakistan has hiked due to the severe heat and sweltering temperatures.

There have been rumours about watermelons being artificially reddened, which vendors and traders vehemently deny.