A heated exchange quickly turned into a physical altercation between PTI’s Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan and PPP MNA Qadir Khan Mandokhel, on a TV show hosted by anchor Javed Chaudhry. Reportedly, both politicians first engaged in a verbal spat while answering the anchor’s questions. First, only the videos of the verbal disputes went viral. Then after some time, a shocking wave of another viral video transpired on social media. Here the Senior PTI Minister appeared to verbally abuse and slap PPP’s Qadir Khan.
It also appeared that PPP MNA twisted Awan’s arm and tried to grab her after getting slapped. Then for a moment, it looked like Awan was about to smash Khan’s head with a coffee mug. Soon after the technical team intervened and tried to settle the matter. According to the reports, the incident was not live and only occurred during recording.
Firdous Ashiq Awan Explains Her Actions
The viral video invited criticism on both politicians for behaving this way. The public furiously demanded both of them to apologize to each other. However, Awan shared a video in which she tried to explain what made her act this way. She claimed that Mandokhel crossed a line that made her angry and the viral videos only contained one side of the story. Awan further said that Mandokhel threatened her, insulted her late father, and used foul language against her. She asked the media channel to release the full video of the conflict.
Firdous Ashiq Awan is known for her unapologetic aggression. Several videos in the past have shown her bossing people around in a rude manner. Not so long ago she insulted an assistant commissioner while visiting a Ramadan Bazaar and spotting rotten food items.
Well, this time the public noticed that she was not solely responsible for the escalation.
How Things Got This Far?
The debate between two politicians facilitated by Chaudhry became harsh as soon as the show started. They were literally screaming at each other and exchanging accusations of corruption rather than talking logically. Credit for the most part probably goes to the anchor, who failed to intervene before the conflict escalated.
Due to Javed Chaudhry’s non-response, folks were holding him equally responsible for this mess. On the other hand, some also slammed the PPP MNA for his crude behavior with a female minister throughout the show. Reportedly, Mandokhel did not comment anything on the incident. Meanwhile, the public bashed the media’s tendency to cash politicians fighting with each other.
Why Media Lets Such Things Happen?
Many called to ban such toxic TV shows promoting hate, misinformation, racism, polarization, and poisoning the mind of the public. They noted the foolish questions of anchor that served no other purpose than igniting the already present flame inside members of opposite parties. Alternatively, they could have discussed the strategy to address the socio-economic issues of Pakistan. This behavior from political figures is not new and it will certainly not be the last. This is why the public expected anchors to avoid triggering such incidents in an attempt to gain ratings.
