Fawad Chaudhry, Nafisa Shah up in arms, trade barbs on Twitter

Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry and People’s Party leader Nafisa Shah were seen exchanging caustic remarks on Twitter over the controversial leasing of the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation. 

On Tuesday, Nafisa posted a Call to Attention notice directed towards Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) regarding the contentious lease of the corporation and forceful evacuation of staff from the building, that she said had caused ‘grave concern amongst the public.’

In response, Fawad, stating how Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Khursheed Shah favoured his close aides by appointing 800 people in radio alone adding to the hefty budgets that government had to bear, wrote:

"PPP destroyed all institutions including PBC by filling its own cronies , in three days Khursheed Shah filled 800 people only in Radio!costing 7 crore Rs additional burden, Govt is drowning 5 B Rs every year only on Radio thanks to PPP visionless policy." 

Addressing this Nafisa, the Information Secretary of PPP parliamentarians,  criticised Fawad for starting a futile, verbal war on Twitter saying he should address these concerns on the floor, rather than on the microblogging site.

She then went ahead to inform Fawad that his ‘baseless accusation’ against a former minister and opposition leader [Khursheed Shah] may result in a privilege motion on the basis of slander.

It is pertinent to mention that Fawad, entertaining the request of raising these issues on the floor, replied: