PML-N leader Attaullah Tarar, in a press conference, rather than condemning the recent violence, warned of grave consequences for anybody who raises slogans against the members of the ruling party.
Referring to the incident that took place in Marriott hotel in which a senior citizen was thrashed for allegedly calling Noor Alam Khan, a dissident member of PTI, a “turncoat,” Tarar stated that “anybody who raises slogan, uses profanity or even talks in loud voice against any member of the ruling party would have to face similar consequences.”
Atta emphasized that he is “saying this very clearly” and that “relevant authorities had been instructed” to act accordingly. The senior PML-N leader further asserted that “we have tolerated this for long enough,” but now [that they were in power], they would no longer tolerate this.
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He recalled that in 2017 people used to ridicule the PML-N leadership everywhere they used to go, may it be in restaurants, in public places, or in parks, but “we never retaliated.”
To clarify, on 12 April, a day after Shahbaz Sharif was elected as the Prime Minister of Pakistan by the National Assembly, a scuffle broke out between PTI leader Noor Alam Khan and a senior citizen after the latter allegedly called Noor Alam a “turncoat” and used profane language against the leader.
According to reports, Noor Alam Khan was joined by senior members of the Pakistan People’s Party, namely; Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, Nadeem Afzal Chan, and Faisal Karim Kundi, who were having an Iftar party at the private hotel located on Agha Khan road, F-5/1 F-5, Islamabad.
According to the footage that surfaced on Twitter, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, the nephew of the deceased Rawalpindi gangster “Taji Khokar”, joined by a few other members, manhandled the elderly.
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Before the onset of the fight that would end with one punch, PPP member Faisal Kareem Kundi was seen picking up a glass from a nearby table and throwing it toward the elderly, who responded by throwing the nearest object back at Kundi.
Before the elderly could grab on to anything else to hurl at the politician, Mustafa Nawaz Khokar closed in on the elderly to deliver a punch that would eventually knock him down, bringing down a nearby table in the process. Before the fight could escalate any further, the two parties were separated by the bystanders.
I empathize with politicians getting abuse but I condemn their violent reactions. Our political culture is toxic but solution is compassion not retaliation. I get abuses from PTI/PPP/TLP/PMLN activists, my campaign team was repeatedly assaulted but we never replied with violence.
— M. Jibran Nasir 🇵🇸 (@MJibranNasir) April 12, 2022
Many prominent journalists and social activists took to Twitter to talk about the incident. Jibran Nasir, a prominent social activist, talking about the incident, wrote on twitter, “I empathize with politicians getting abused but I condemn their violent reactions. Our political culture is toxic but solution is compassion not retaliation.”
Shiffa Yousafzai, a prominent journalist, also took to Twitter to record her disgust.