Usman Dar slammed on Twitter for 'making fun' of Pashtun workers

Published November 6, 2019
PTI leader Usman Dar is being condemned for derogatory remarks regarding Pashtun street vendors. — DawnNewsTV/File
PTI leader Usman Dar is being condemned for derogatory remarks regarding Pashtun street vendors. — DawnNewsTV/File

MNA Mohsin Dawar slammed Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Usman Dar "for making fun of those who are just making an honest living", after the latter compared the participants of the ongoing Azadi March to street vendors.

The PTI leader came under fire after he appeared on Express News' programme To the Point earlier this week, in which he said: "In the end, they [the Azadi marchers] will get the same [returns] as those pathan [vendors] who roam in streets and sell a blanket worth Rs500 for Rs50."

He was immediately called out by PML-N representative Hina Pervez Butt, who was also a guest on the show.

"I want to condemn [the usage] of the word pathan [randomly] like this. We are all Pakistanis," she said.

Dar, however, continued to use the rhetoric until the show's host, Mansoor Ali Khan, asked him to take his words back.

"Alright, I will take [my words] back," the PTI leader later conceded.

The remarks invited a backlash on Twitter, where 'Shame on Usman Dar' became a top trend. Many users of the social media platform condemned the PTI leader's choice of words, saying he ought to be ashamed of his statement.

Dawar also reacted to Dar's statement, saying: "Pashtun displacement into Punjab is a cost of Pakistan's strategic depth policy. These Pashtuns won't have left their homeland, if it wasn't used for strategic games and was allowed to grow to full potential. #ShameOnUsmanDar for making fun of those who are just making an honest living."

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