Finance Minister Ishaq Dar heckled at airport in Washington

Published October 13, 2022
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was heckled at an airport in Washington on Thursday. — screengrab
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar was heckled at an airport in Washington on Thursday. — screengrab

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday was heckled by unidentified people at the Dulles International Airport in Washington DC after he landed in the US capital ahead of important meetings with global lending institutions.

Dar is expected to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. He is also expected to hold direct talks with their officials.

Videos widely shared on social media today showed the minister accompanied by Pakistan’s Ambassador to US Masood Khan and other officials jeered near the airport’s arrivals. In the clips, the hecklers can be heard chanting slogans of “chor chor” directed toward Dar.

In one of the videos, a man can be heard shouting: “You’re a liar. You’re a chor”.

In his retort, Dar says: “You’re a liar.”

Mani Butt, the president of PML-N’s Virginia chapter — who accompanied Dar — can be seen exchanging profanities with the hecklers.

This is not the first time federal ministers have been jeered at public places on their trips abroad and even within the country. Last month, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb was heckled at a coffee shop in London. Earlier, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal was harassed by PTI supporters at a restaurant.

In April, a group of Pakistani pilgrims accosted, heckled and chanted slogans against PM Shehbaz and his entourage at the Masjid-i-Nabwi in Madina during their three-day visit to Saudi Arabia.

Politicians and other religious figures had condemned the incident and some had blamed the PTI.


Additional reporting by Anwar Iqbal

Opinion

Editorial

Sustainable path?
Updated 13 Jun, 2026

Sustainable path?

The FY27 budget is the first clear signal that the government is ready to transition from stabilisation to growth.
Prioritising education
13 Jun, 2026

Prioritising education

THOUGH the improvement in the country’s literacy rate may be slight, as highlighted by the Economic Survey, it ...
Poverty’s rise
13 Jun, 2026

Poverty’s rise

AS attention turns to the government’s plans for the coming fiscal year, one set of figures deserves particular...
A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...