KARACHI: Special Assistant to the Punjab Chief Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan made headlines on Thursday after footage of her getting into a physical altercation with PPP legislator Qadir Khan Mandokhail went viral on social media.

The incident occurred when the two politicians appeared on Kal Tak, a talk show of Express News hosted by senior journalist Javed Chaudhry, Dawn.com reported.

Things began to heat up when the PPP leader mentioned Dr Awan’s comments on the Ghotki train crash. (At a press conference, she had reportedly said that “by the grace of God” this was the first train accident of this year.)

“Your statement was akin to pouring salt on someone’s wounds,” Mr Mandokhail said. Subsequently, the two politicians kept on trading barbs and insults as the host and PML-N’s Uzma Bukhari looked on.

Video clip about physical altercation between the two goes viral

Shortly after the TV programme, a video clip surfaced on internet, showing Dr Awan physically attacking and slapping Mr Mandokhail.

In response, Dr Awan took to Twitter to defend her actions. “The picture being painted about the argument with Mandokhail during Javed Chaudhry’s TV show highlights only one side of the story,” she said.

She alleged that a “one-sided propaganda campaign” was being carried out as the video clip that went viral did not include the vulgar language used by the PPP leader against her and her late father. In a separate video statement, Dr Awan added that she would consult her legal team to file charges against the PPP leader.

For his part, the PPP legislator said he was ready to forgive Dr Awan if she apologised for her actions. In a statement, Mr Mandokhail said he did not use abusive language against the CM’s adviser and could not even think of doing such a thing.

“Considering taking legal action against me instead of apologising is pure stubbornness. I also have the right to take legal action,” he said and added that he would decide whether or not to take action against Dr Awan after consulting with his party’s leadership.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2021