KARACHI: Senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Naeem-ul-Haq stirred social media outrage after he slapped Federal Minister for Privatisation Daniyal Aziz during a TV talk show on Tuesday.
During a talk show of a private TV channel, the bickering between the two politicians intensified when Mr Aziz referred to Mr Haque and said: “Am I afraid of you… afraid of thieves like you [may kya aap se darta hoon… ap jaisay choron se]”.
The word ‘thief’ that Aziz used to describe the PTI leader didn’t go well with the latter and he slapped the minister, leaving the show host and other guests in shock.
The channel also muted some of the remarks made by Mr Haque. He also responded the minister saying, “You are yourself thief and you call me a chor [thief].”
The spat didn’t end with a slap. Aziz responded after a violent gesture, saying, “How dare you hit me like that?” Mr Haque hit back: “How dare you call me a chor?”
The show host tried to calm things down, but in vain.
Making a statement on the incident, former Prime minister Nawaz Sharif said it was the culture of PTI to react this violently and unethically. He blamed Imran Khan ‘for creating this culture in the PTI.’
It’s not the first time Naeem ul Haque lost his cool during a TV talk show. Some years ago, he was among the three guests at a talk show when Pakistan Peoples Party’s Jamil Soomro made some offensive remarks about Mr. Haque and the latter threw a glass of water at Soomro.
They also pushed and shoved each other, prompting Haque to leave the studio.
