#PTI leaders Imran Khan and Naeemul Haque - Wrong Precedent

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) leaders Imran Khan and Naeemul Haque are under fire for the latter’s actions on a talk show recently. Naeemul Haque lost his temper and slapped Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz’s (PML-N), Daniyal Aziz. Verbal disagreements are a regular part of the Pakistani talk shows and sometimes politicians even take the liberty of abusing their counterparts in such scenarios. Same was the scenario in this case when Naeemul Haque lost his cool after Daniyal Aziz kept on accusing PTI Chairman Imran Khan of being a thief. Political accusations are a part and parcel of the political scene in Pakistan, however, getting physical is rightly looked down upon. If there is a disagreement, it must be resorted verbally rather than indulging in a physical fight.

PTI leader Naeemul Haque is rightfully being reprimanded by political leaders and the masses of the country. Such behaviour from the top leadership of a political party is bound to set the wrong precedents. This was not the first time Naeemul Haque lost his temper and disrespected his counterparts instead of verbally addressing their accusations. The behaviour of Murad Saeed in the parliament does not come as a shock because these are the examples the party has set. The usual justification for such incidents is that they are frustrated with the inaction of those in power, however, that does not allow anyone to get physical and take matters into their own hands in an illegal manner. This is the same behaviour which promotes incidents similar to what happened in Sialkot a few days ago.

At the same time, it is a shame that PTI Chairman Imran Khan lauded Naeemul Haque for the behaviour. Naeemul Haque’s statement for a local TV channel shows that he has no remorse for his actions, and that those around him are also very proud of his display of intolerance on national television. However, what is ironic is his tweet that followed. Even though he himself clearly stated that Imran Khan was pleased with his behaviour, he now claims that media is misquoting him by projecting that Imran Khan was pleased with the slap. He went ahead to clarify that Khan never supports violence and he was only pleased with the rebuttal of Aziz’ arguments. If that is the case, Naeemul Haque should have apologised for his actions.