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Maria B's defence of letting corona positive cook flee may have made things worse

Maria B's defence of letting corona positive cook flee may have made things worse

"We explained the entire concept of social isolation and told him to copy the same at his own house," said the couple.
Updated 25 Mar, 2020

A leaked video of designer Maria B created havoc on social media yesterday as she was seen making a plea to Imran Khan regarding how Lahore police treated her husband like a criminal.

In the one minute clip, she can be seen informing the public about how her husband was taken away by armed policemen who showed up at their home past midnight and refused to cooperate.

A photo posted by Instagram (@instagram) on

According to reports that surfaced after, Lahore police confirmed Tahir Saeed's arrest on the grounds that the couple was negligent and had let their cook Umer Farooq, who had tested positive for Covid-19, flee back to his village in Vihari, Punjab.

Since it took Farooq two local buses to reach his native hometown, the imprisonment was on grounds of hiding his diagnosis, failing to quarantine him or inform relevant authorities, and therefore knowingly putting local lives at risk.

However, after facing more backlash for being "irresponsible elites", the duo once again took to social media to explain their side in a 20 minute long video on the brand's official accounts. The post has since been deleted.

"Chughtai Lab didn't tell us what to do, the government didn't tell us what to do. The cook said he had symptoms and asked to be sent home so his siblings can take better care of him, that's when we sent him," she explained.

"This whole case was portrayed as though we recklessly sent him off to Vehari. It’s a virus, it’s spreading everywhere and the government is probably not even aware that it’s in Vehari and came through him into our home, we're the ones who are upset!" she continued.

In a country where the Prime Minister has time and again addressed the nation regarding social distancing and the importance of quarantine for the safety of others, it's extremely disappointing that the privileged are acting selfishly instead of lending a hand to those who need their aid the most.

They had no qualms about calling the authorities when they needed a bail out, why couldn't they call the relevant authorities before the cook left their premises? Or taken him to a hospital with an isolation ward for that matter?

The pandemic does not discriminate between race or class since everyone is at equal risk but clearly people do.

Most of the folks whose lives may have been endangered during the two bus rides will barely be able to afford the healthcare and precautions the designer can but apparently that's okay as long as her own family is practicing social distancing (the rules of which are apparently different for the domestic help).

Did the couple really need to be told how distancing works despite the entire world collaborating to explain it? A simple Google search would have sufficed. What rock were they living under? Or was that a chandelier...

While in no way are we condoning police using excessive force, we're living in unprecedented times; if we can't grasp the need for collective and individual responsibility, we have no chance of containing this pandemic.

Comments

Rustamsalehin Mar 25, 2020 07:15pm
The attitude of the couple, that is certainly educated, indicates that the people of Pakistan might face a very grave situation.
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M. Saeed Mar 25, 2020 07:17pm
This also shows that, even educated and well to do people are also not clear about their duties in reporting such cases immediately to the authorities. The should simply have called helpline 1166 immediately, to seek their help.
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Sadia Mar 25, 2020 07:20pm
Never buying any clothes from her She may not need my money... she has made enough!!!!! But I will not let my hard earned money go to this elitist privileged designer who is so does not care for her own cook and servant
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Hamid shafiq Mar 25, 2020 07:28pm
Well done Punjab police salute to you
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Azhar Anwar Mar 25, 2020 07:41pm
If educated people make these mistakes then what do we expect from the 75% uneducated in this country? It may sound they have done nothing but this reckless behavior has brought dangers to the city of Vehari and all the other areas where the infected person passed through on his way to reach the destination. Should they be tried for the deaths of people that about to come due to that reckless behavior? Should they burden the cost of the pandemic they caused? Was impressed with the chandelier at their house. Looks like they have a huge sense of entitlement - wonder what strings they pulled to get out of the police station at such a short time - only in Pakistan this can happened.
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Down With Monarchs - Petwari of Punjab Mar 25, 2020 07:41pm
Irresponsible elites; worthless burden on middle class. They let the man drawn in sorrow and despair and ruined him, by ruining all around him. They are criminals! Stop them before they eat our children alive. Oh! what a day it was, when this woman and his criminally treated husband decided to become one in endangering others! They should be also held for conspiracy against government and nation.
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Karachi King Mar 25, 2020 07:42pm
Shame on you. So he infect all society. You are an educated illiterate and pretend to be so responsible. If you were really so human, you should isolate him in your house and call police. Shame Shame Shame. Stop buying from his outlets. This is what their contribution towards society.
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Afnan A Mar 25, 2020 07:56pm
I have no sympathy for the elites. They just dont have the courage to come up and say that they made a mistake and they apologize! Putting dozens, maybe 100s more at risk by sending the cook home and then having the audacity to storm social media like this. Duhh!!!
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haris Mar 25, 2020 08:00pm
Look at the Chicken and her Cockerel, they still believe they did the right thing and not just that they wanted to make us believe on them. Guys, boycott their brand. The less we do justice to ourselves and our society.
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Jahan Ara Mar 25, 2020 08:07pm
Well done Punjab police. These so called educated are selfish creatures think only about their benefits. I hope Lahore high court will rescue them as early as possible.
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Gautom Mar 25, 2020 08:30pm
This incident reveals the shameful mind set amongst the middle class of South Asia, wherein domestic help are not viewed as being human beings at all
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nishaa Mar 25, 2020 08:33pm
Nailed it. Highly disappointed in the behaviour.
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Raza Mar 25, 2020 08:34pm
They knew everything it’s just that they wanted to get rid of an infected person in their household and the rest is a coverup campaign to salvage her brand.But let us not forget it and boycott her brand in future.
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Anti-Corruption_Pakistani Mar 25, 2020 08:38pm
I think, whole drama could had been avoided if Maria B and her husband had involved their local medical and government authorities to handle the incident and testing, etc. When you have a domestic worker than it is the responsibility of the household to take care of them - why they gave the domestic worker money and let him travel to his home in Vehari?
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Syed Hafeez Imran Mar 25, 2020 08:47pm
It is so shameful om how this couple is reacting. irresponsibly selfishly and endangering the lives of the people. What they did was inhuman. the police acted rightly to protect lives o=f hundreds and appealing to Ik and crying shows their worthless sense of priority, ego and total lack of any understanding of the situation and empathy Does she think that IK has time to even think about one individuals arrest and bail when the whole nation is facing such big threat The least all of us can do is totally boycott this person and their business
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Jack Mar 25, 2020 08:48pm
How very innocent!
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azam kadeer Mar 25, 2020 09:37pm
If educated people make these mistakes then what do we expect from the 75% uneducated in this country? It may sound they have done nothing but this reckless behavior has brought dangers to the city of Vehari and all the other areas where the infected person passed through on his way to reach the destination. they must be tried for the deaths of people that about to come due to that reckless behavior They Must burden the cost of the pandemic they caused?. Was impressed with the chandelier at their house. Looks like they have a huge sense of entitlement - wonder what strings they pulled to get out of the police station at such a short time - only in Pakistan this can happened. These guys must be been out
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Desi Mar 25, 2020 09:50pm
If you want them to realize their mistake, boycott their brand. We have the power to teach anyone a lesson if we collectively channel our anger towards it. The only question is whether we will do it or just forget about the whole incident in a couple of weeks and go back in their stores and start sjopping
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Nk Mar 25, 2020 09:50pm
These are two educated ignorant infact very illiterate person. Why on earth you let him or send him to his village? Why you did not let him or take him to a health facility? The havoc he may have left behind and now brewing around him may become an extremely big challenge. What a wasteful mind?
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Nk Mar 25, 2020 10:11pm
Look at the photo that guy is coughing.
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Atif Mar 25, 2020 11:06pm
It is a clear confessional statement, why is he out on bail after this.
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kamran Mar 25, 2020 11:06pm
Absolute irresponsibility on the part of the couple. They appear to be educated but their action proved they are the opposite. Should face the consequences. Now crying on the media is senseless.
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sadiq Mar 25, 2020 11:15pm
disappointed to the core. Maria B you have lost a loyal customer
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Syed Mar 25, 2020 11:34pm
Couple behavior unacceptable ... They should apologize unconditionally.
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Dr Imran Ahmed Mar 25, 2020 11:34pm
Was the cook their slave or not compos mentis? Are they necessarily responsible for all his actions? It is conceivable that he took his own decisions and is responsible for the situation.
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Mrs.khalil Mar 25, 2020 11:48pm
The laboratory which conducted the Test is responsible for this medical negligence, all over the world for communicable diseases , laboratories are bound to inform concerned authorities. Behavior of this designer is not surprising, this section of our society is insensitive and in human
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Hatif Mar 25, 2020 11:57pm
Grossed at the moral collapse of our society media and the authorities concerned
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Texan Mar 26, 2020 01:14am
An adult employee (cook) make the decision to not report but go home! Isn't he the responsible party here? Don't kill the messenger. You have people witnessing target killing but never coming forward because they don't want to be involved in police cases.
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Nabeel Khan Mar 26, 2020 02:03am
This couple should be punished. They are setting wrong example.
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JYD Mar 26, 2020 02:33am
Arrogant lady, showing she is in control. She is telling that she don’t know that if she know that case she have moral duty to report that case instead of scare the cook away. Stay away from her line of clothing!!!
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BM Mar 26, 2020 03:25am
These shameful people r still not realising their mistake. Good job Punjab police
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saeed Mar 26, 2020 04:01am
If Zardari or NS era these people got the free pass. Than every Pakistani blaming them for corruption. Now why PTI supporters are quite not blaming IK for corruption
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Amjad Durrani Engineer USA Mar 26, 2020 04:46am
@Rustamsalehin very true. This very selfish, indifferent attitude and empathy of this supposedly educated elite couple, towards others who have been put in a harm’s way unknowingly due to their criminal negligence is not condonable.
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Thoughts Mar 26, 2020 04:53am
Hmm, perhaps they should be asked how their cook was supposed to get home without infecting others along the way!
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Akil Akhtar Mar 26, 2020 05:01am
This is the face of our elite who think they are above the law......
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Javed Qamer Engineer Washington DC Mar 26, 2020 05:16am
These people think they are above the law and small people do not matter. You people let a corona virus 19 patient go on a bus to his village. Do you know how many people he infected. Do you know how many people will die because of your alibi of "we did not know". You both should be ashamed of yourself. I hope they send you to prison and throw the keys away
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Aaiz Mar 26, 2020 06:19am
Very unfortunate that the most well aware and well traveled people in Pakistan behaved in such a manner. They are trying to defend the indefensible. They don't even realise their mistake, let alone understand the gravity of it. Must boycott such selfish elitists
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Sam Mar 26, 2020 07:03am
Totally irresponsible and reckless behaviour. Boycott Maria B. Disgusted.
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Asim Mar 26, 2020 07:43am
@Raza 100% agreed
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RK Mar 26, 2020 07:54am
That indicates peculiar mindset of our so-called elite class. Time to learn some humanity by all of us through this trial period.
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Usman Mar 26, 2020 08:04am
If only she had added an apology for her and her family's ignorance instead, she was only complaining in the video. I have no sympathy for her. I hope true justice is served and her husband punished by the law and the inquiry into police misconduct must take place as well.
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Smart Observer Mar 26, 2020 08:31am
@Rustamsalehin Well Said. And this is the very sad situation. They are intoxicated with money and power.
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Smart Observer Mar 26, 2020 08:35am
@Gautom Absolutely TRUE
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Smart Observer Mar 26, 2020 08:39am
@Mrs.khalil Well Said
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Harry Jam Mar 26, 2020 08:52am
You cannot arrest Mr. Maria B legally for not keeping employee at his residence. Morally, it may be wrong but he's done nothing illegal.
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KB Mar 26, 2020 09:27am
Disappointing role, behaviour and attitude of this couple.
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Wani Mar 26, 2020 09:29am
Such negligent people deserve to be quarantined for a lifetime as they will never be reasonable and responsible citizen. Their attitude is more disastrous.
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IMran Mar 26, 2020 09:39am
Appearing innocent and still not realizing that she has contributed to escalation. That's the problem we have, never admitting to ones faults.
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Shazia Mar 26, 2020 10:07am
This is criminal negligence on part of couple..., they deserve punishment......
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Zahir Mar 26, 2020 10:25am
Simple question-would MB. and her husband do the same to their brother, son, or father, the answer is no, but then again I digress.Kudos to Punjab police,let the law take care of them.
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Zahir Mar 26, 2020 10:36am
Listening to the defense offered by the couple, shows a sense of entitlement and utter detachment from the society at large, really shameful and painful.
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A common man Mar 26, 2020 10:54am
There is no doubt in anyone's mind about this couple's crime. What we are waiting to see though is what punishment will they be handed ? Or will their priveleged position in society allow them to escape any ? Kudos to police for booking them. Its time for the justice system to shine and hand an exempleary punishment. Its their wealth that has made them consider them above the common man, let that be the whip. Award them a fine in billions, use the money for the treatment of coronavirus.
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Aqeel Lakdawala Mar 26, 2020 10:54am
How can someone so educated and being a well to do family be so careless and do something so foolish. Instead of accepting their mistake they are justifying it. You don't need other to tell you what to do, just needed some common sense. They just had to hand him over to the hospital.
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Farrukh Mar 26, 2020 11:05am
Extremely heartless and cruel people. Instead of contributing for cause and rid country from the deadly pandemic they are selfishly spreading the death among the masses ! It's a real shame!
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Nick, NY Mar 26, 2020 12:45pm
Priceless display of the Arrogance of ignorance!
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Parvez Mar 26, 2020 01:48pm
What she and her husband did was wrong but lets be honest, she is super rich and most probably connected and he is poor and certainly not connected ....SO ?
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Dr jawad Mar 26, 2020 01:58pm
boycott - not gonna buy from them again.
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Salim khan Mar 26, 2020 04:38pm
They both are criminal. We must stop buying their products and must let them know the consequences of their actions by letting their servant go. They did not care about the country and it's people. We must show them that they are no more relevant and STOP BUYING THEIR BRANDED PRODUCTS.
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shafqat Mar 26, 2020 04:39pm
How can they be so careless and then defending their irresponsible behavior. ?? I personally will boycott her brand till they apologize to the very people who may have potentially got infection because of them.
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imran Mar 26, 2020 05:57pm
Sometimes the best thing to say is to say nothing at all.
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Arsala Erum Ahmed Mar 26, 2020 06:49pm
They don't even understand their mistake.
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Shkhan Mar 26, 2020 08:38pm
This couple should be responsible for bearing the medical cost of all people infected as a result of their decision! That would be fair...the infected person was within their care and he should have been quarantined and reported- the couple acted extremely selfishly with no regard for their fellow citizens!
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rizwan haider Mar 27, 2020 07:33am
@Sadia really appreciate your this gesture.
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Taimur Mar 27, 2020 08:10am
This is downright irresponsible. They should apologize and own up to their mistake. Instead they try to defend it, which just shows they haven't learned anything. Put your egos aside and start being part of the solution.
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Asim (Canada) Mar 27, 2020 08:54am
She is not even remorseful of the grave action her Husband took and was brave enough to come online and COMPLAIN .... what a woman...
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MJB Mar 27, 2020 01:16pm
Send both to prison
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Naveed Anwar Mar 27, 2020 01:17pm
This is a simple case of leave of absence. Tve cook is an adult & should be held responsible for his actions, As long as he is being compensated for his leave then the employer is not responsible. The chef in this case knew he was tested positive then the burden is on him to play safe. .
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Nauman Khan Mar 27, 2020 03:38pm
These capitalist thinking people only want to make money out of this poor nation and no pay back to poor.. Curse
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Ahmad Mar 27, 2020 07:12pm
Bad, but a bit overblown. Educated doesn't necessarily mean informed. At least the message is out.
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Farah Mar 27, 2020 10:51pm
Illiterate in the skin of pretentious literate,clearly she is super selfish,downright ignorant,who does not care about anyone but herself ,do you not know what this virus is capable of,you infected so many ppl,if anyone dies the blood is on hands,ban her and her clothes
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Laila Mar 28, 2020 03:50am
What this couple has done is irresponsible and should be punishable. Her business should be boycotted. I think most of not all of us agree on this. There is simply no excuse she knew better but it acted against it. Not cool at all. However it is not appropriate for a police official to speak in such an unprofessional and personal manner. Just release a neutral statement explaining what happened without commenting on them personally. It will have the same effect. It doesn't matter whether she speaks English or Urdu, or whether it was bakwas or facts. Stay professional, police.
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Zehra Mar 28, 2020 11:32am
@saeed agreed. They should be punished on this criminal negligence.
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ismail khan Mar 28, 2020 07:39pm
This is not first controversy of Maria.B, remember her controversy with a model and those long insta explanation and now this.
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zeeshan Mar 29, 2020 06:55am
well, it is not maria b and her husbands responsibility(strictly legally speaking) to keep the cook in their home is he has tested positive. what exact law did they violate?? there was no need for police action. hearing the police response video, it is very clear to me that they(police) just wanted to gain some cheap publicity, and 'show' to the public that they are doing their best to keep everyone safe.
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