KARACHI: A day after he used an army boot to ridicule two major opposition parties at a live TV show, Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Imran Khan was not happy over his action.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader appeared in a Geo TV programme and took complete responsibility of the incident, but made it clear to the anchor that he would not apologise for bringing the army boot to a live TV show. He said he had spoken to the prime minister and assured him that he would not repeat such a thing and act responsibly.

Mr Vawda continued targeting former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz and alleged that it was they who always spoke against “institutions” to weaken them. He said he would never indulge in maligning any institution and the army boot he brought to the TV programme on Tuesday night was just meant to point out the double standards of the opposition.

“I am ready to have a debate whether the action to bring a boot was right or not. I brought the boot in a bag and I am solely responsible for bringing it to the show,” the PTI leader said, adding that he was ready to apologise if Nawaz Sharif and Maryam offered an apology for their past narrative against an institution.

Faisal Vawda, PPP’s Qamar Zaman Kaira and PML-N Senator Javed Abbasi were participating in a talk show when the minister put an army boot on the table in front of him and started lashing out at both the opposition parties for voting in favour of the Army Act in parliament.

Also on Wednesday, Kashif Abbasi, the host of the ARY News programme in which Mr Vawda brought the boot, opened his show with an explanation to the criticism he had been facing on social media since last night. He said that the boot displayed on the screen for “8-9 minutes and maybe I should have stopped it immediately”.

“I was not shocked...these kinds of incident don’t shock you, but it was surprising for me,” he said, adding that the PTI leader brought the shoe in a bag and there was no way to know beforehand what he was going to do in the programme.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2020

Opinion

The price of chocolate

The price of chocolate

Little attention is paid to any long-term strategy which might prevent vulnerable children from working in homes where they are in danger.

Editorial

Cholistan project
Updated 18 Feb, 2025

Cholistan project

GPI goals align with Pakistan's broader economic aims but the manner in which the initiative was launched raises questions.
Right to know
18 Feb, 2025

Right to know

IT is an unfortunate paradox that while on paper Pakistan has some of the most impressive right to information laws,...
Dam dispute
18 Feb, 2025

Dam dispute

THE situation in Chilas needs attention and a fair-minded approach so that it can be resolved amicably. Diamer ...
Climate funding gap
Updated 17 Feb, 2025

Climate funding gap

Pakistan must boost its institutional capacity to develop bankable climate projects.
UN monitoring report
Updated 17 Feb, 2025

UN monitoring report

Pakistan must press Kabul diplomatically over its tolerance of TTP terrorism.
Tax policy reform
17 Feb, 2025

Tax policy reform

THE cabinet’s decision to create a Tax Policy Office at the finance ministry has raised hopes that tax policy is...