Miftah loses his cool over question on luxury car imports for ministers

Former finance minister Miftah Ismail flayed a member of the audience at the Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) for asking the reason behind the government's failure to stop the import of luxury cars for ministers during his tenure.

Enraged at a question about purportedly obtaining a BMW while he was in the government, Ismail responded: "Which BMW did I take? How can you accuse anybody of this? How can you say this, [I] mean what kind of a remark was that?" 

Miftah's outburst came during a session, "Pakistan’s Economy: Depth and Resilience", at the KLF on Sunday.

The former finance czar added that he used to drive his own car and pay for his fuel.

"These false accusations of corruption that you level against people force them to go to jail and it's not funny," he replied.

"My sister, wife and daughter were crying when I had to go to jail so you should take it back," Ismail told the person.

The verbal spat triggered several reactions from social media users, who showed their support for the PML-N leader.

The party responded to the incident with a tweet, stating:

"This ladies and gentlemen is how you shut down brainwashed zombies. Take a bow Miftah Ismail." 

The session, led by Samiullah Siddiqi and joined by Miftah Ismail, also included Akbar Zaidi, Muhammad Aurangzeb and Azfar Ahsan. It explored the challenges and opportunities in Pakistan's economy. It also highlighted the potential of sectors such as agriculture, industry and services in driving the economic growth and pulling the country out of its current predicament.

The 14th KLF ended on its third day on Sunday on a high note with a huge turnout of literature enthusiasts. The exciting line-up of sessions ensured that the attendees did not want to miss out engaging discussions. The festival provided a fitting finale to a celebration of literature, arts and culture.