Stand-up comedian Syed Shafaat Ali impersonated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif making the latter laugh out loud at a ceremony held in honour of the hockey team in Islamabad for the national side playing 2024 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup final.
"I would like to congratulate the Pakistan hockey team for making the nation proud at the international level," the PM remarked in his speech at the ceremony.
“The Pakistan hockey was on a decline but now we can see that the good days of Pakistan are returning due to your hard work," he said.
After concluding his speech, PM Shehbaz tongue-in-cheek said he once had been inflicted ‘injury’ upon by Shafaat so when he saw him in the event he thought he was in trouble.
The stand-up comedian is famous for mimicking politicians and his videos performing mimicry have gone viral on social media.
The PM invited the celebrated comic on stage to crack some jokes or perform a mimicry set. Following this, Shafaat took the stage but said it was difficult for him to mimic the premier live as he stood before him. The prime minister, however, said there was no problem and that the comedian could repeat the joke he had earlier made on him.
Shafaat mesmerised the audience with his talent, as he not only matched Premier Shehbaz’s voice but also imitated the same gestures as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader usually makes.
In the PM’s voice, the comedian told Chairman Prime Minister Youth Program Rana Mashhood that if the hockey players were not appointed in various public departments in a week then he would hold a meeting with Rana on another topic, as he would never speak to him again on sports at least. Upon which, the hall burst out laughing.
During his speech, PM Shehbaz directed the authorities to induct the hockey players in government institutes.
He also spoke about holding a discussion with the officials of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) regarding the revival of the sport in the country.
Cheques, worth Rs1 million each, were distributed among the members of the hockey team to recognise their achievements.
The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup proved to be a breath of fresh air for hockey fans after Pakistan qualified for the final of the event for the first time in 13 years.