Recently, a satirical piece by a Pakistani media outlet went so viral that a popular UK publication, Mirror covered it as actual news. It said that former Pakistani cricket player turned Prime Minister, Imran Khan took a jibe at Manchester United’s skipper Harry Maguire. According to the story, Khan criticized Harry’s leadership abilities as the captain while self-praising.
This UK based platform that a few years back published a story on Pakistani singer Hadiqa Kiyani’s involvement in drugs took these remarks as real and made fake news out of it.
Imran Khan Taking A Swipe At Harry Maguire
The outlet presented the story as a fun interview that showed Prime Minister proud of his leadership. He exclaimed that the captain and the coach of Manchester United would not dare to say the words like “sabse pehle to apne ghabrana nhi hai” (First of all, do not be afraid). He added that 220 million Pakistanis should worry about 660 million Man United fans who have Maguire as their leader.
Khan also said that unlike him, Man U’s coach and captain have failed to deal with the board and selectors. This part of the story largely hints at Khan’s allegedly fruitful relationships with Pakistan’s establishment. It continued by implying that Khan and Man United’s leadership are equally criticized for their roles. However, the latter may get fired before Khan as the article suggests.
At the end of the story (that was of course a work of satire), Khan stressed that Pakistanis should learn how to remain patient from the fans of Man United. Nobody started any hateful movement against the club’s leadership for the horrible defeat.
Manchester United’s Terrible Loss Mirrors Khan’s Naya Pakistan
4th October was nothing short of a judgment day for Manchester United. The celebrated club lost 1-6 to a relatively inferior Tottenham at Old Trafford. It was tempting to see a smaller club thrash the sizeable club like Man U. The defense which included Harry Maguire, had the worst time of the day.
Tottenham led a devastating combination of Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane at the front. Both scored 2 goals each, Tanguy Ndombele and Serge Aurier scored the other 2. Man U midfielder Bruno Fernandez scored the only goal for his team with the penalty kick.
The fate of Manchester United also reminds about how Khan lost his glorious days as a cricket player after becoming a politician. It might be too early to conclude if his government has failed but a lot of other critical factors have failed under his government. Crises management requires a realistic approach towards the dangers like consulting experienced individuals despite political differences. The PTI government has only intensified the differences. Furthermore, the country is going far from peace; human rights and the freedom of speech, expression, and association are all suffering under Khan’s government.
It Was Just For Entertainment
The made-up story was solely meant for entertainment. It showed how distressed Khan would urge the people of Pakistan to have patience amid the multiple crises. The story said that Pakistanis should be grateful that their leader is not like Harry Maguire who led Manchester United to the worst defeat of their lifetime.
The theme of the story probably stems from the PM’s fixation with sports. Khan usually gives cricket references while debating or justifying his politics. On the other hand, Man Utd has been performing terribly under the leadership of captain, Harry Maguire and coach, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Absolutely ridiculous leadership strategies from both players led to such a piece of satire. However, international media supposedly thought it to be real and published as if these were real remarks by the Pakistani Prime Minister.
Also Read
