Jeering not acceptable: man accompanying Dar at airport responds to viral video

Imran Mani Butt, the man who was accompanying Finance Minister Ishaq Dar at the Washington airport when abuses were hurled at him, says that the heckling at the minister won't be tolerated.

A video went viral on Thursday in which a man could be seen   hurling abuses at the finance minister after he landed in the US to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

However, intervention by Butt lead the man to stop.

Reacting to the incident, Butt released a video statement and blamed PTI — without naming the party — for sending their workers to the airport to abuse Dar.

“The mistreatment you have done with Ishaq Dar sahib, we will not tolerate it under any circumstances,” he said in the video statement.

He said that the misbehaviour with the officials representing Pakistan in a foreign country in an attempt to go viral “is over" and "not acceptable".

Butt said that the elements involved "need to stop" themselves and warned them against the use of abusive language for any guest coming from Pakistan.

He said that whoever wants to have a discussion over this matter with him can visit him. 

US officials take notice of airport heckling: FO

The US officials have also taken notice of the misbeahviour against ministers travelling abroad, the Foreign Office mentioned this during its Friday’s briefing.

The statement from FO Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmed comes a day after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was heckled by unidentified people at the Dulles International Airport in Washington DC after he landed in the US capital ahead of important meetings with global lending institutions.

Responding to a question at a weekly press briefing today, Iftikhar said US officials had also taken notice of the misbehaviour with the finance minister at the US airport. He recalled that Saudi authorities had also taken notice when the government delegation was targeted by certain individuals during the visit.

Man abuses Ishaq Dar

Dar is currently in the US to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

Although it is not clear what was the person's political inclination, PTI and PML-N supporters have been at loggerheads ever since PTI Chairman Imran Khan's ouster in April.

Several scuffles between supporters of both parties have broken out abroad, especially in London, where PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif is residing these days.

Recently in London, PTI supporters stopped PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz's son, Junaid Safdar. But the politician's son handled the situation well.

Junaid told the protesters that they have the right to protest, but they should also ensure that they stay within their limits.