ISLAMABAD: A video clip has surfaced in which Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan can be heard commending Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry for doing a "great job" by slapping TV anchor Mubasher Lucman.
Though Lucman was not named by Khan, it is clear that the reference was being made to him as Chaudhry had slapped him during an altercation between the two last month.
Explaining why he did so, Chaudhry is heard saying: "Sir, is this something one should do? Just for the sake of ratings, you [Lucman] are saying that you are in possession of porn videos featuring me. I told him you don't [seem to] have any family [whom you care about]..." he says before the video ends abruptly.
Fawad had had a physical altercation with the TV anchor last month at a wedding event.
The federal minister had subsequently spoken about the incident with Geo, saying that he had hit Lucman for making inappropriate allegations about him and TikTok star Hareem Shah.
Fawad had defended his actions, saying: "I will not tolerate personal attacks against myself. We are all human beings and react when someone makes false allegations of this nature."
The minister had also rejected allegations that he was involved in any way with Hareem Shah, as the TV anchor had suggested. He said he hadn't ever met the Tik Tok celebrity.
Chaudhry had also criticised both Lucman and Sami Abraham — another TV anchor he had slapped earlier — saying they were not journalists.
"Has any journalist body condemned my actions? Did the Punjab Union of Journalists say anything about it? These [Sami Abraham and Mubasher Lucman] are accidental journalists — they have nothing to do with journalism," he had said.
The federal minister had alleged that this was not the first time that Lucman levelled false allegations and maligned someone's character to get views on his YouTube channel.
The minister accused Lucman of targeting PTI leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Zartaj Gul Wazir in the past with false allegations as well.
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