Anchorperson Javed Chaudhry has deplored the scuffle between PTI lawyer Sher Afzal Marwat and PML-N leader Afnan Ullah Khan on his TV show, saying that the Kal Tak team was caught off guard by an unexpected fight between the two politicians.

“If I want to reverse the time, then I will never want this kind of incident to happen on my show or any show,” he said in an interview with Rubaroo on Aaj News which was aired TV on on Friday. “I think this incident happened in 10 to 15 seconds and we did not have any time to cool them down.”

Chaudhry was the guest of Shaukat Piracha on the night show where he spoke about the scuffle and the whole episode whose clips have gone viral on social media, with many users wondering the reason for such an incident.

Marwat and Afnan were seen in different clips fighting with each other after they had an argument over PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

“This is a tragedy,” Chaudhry said while speaking about the episode which prompted him to give an explanation on his own YouTube channel.

The columnist said that his team had no time to “create any buffer zone” or stop the two politicians as the fight started all of a sudden. He explained that the studio of a talk show only had two cameramen, a host, and a guest who were wired to collar mike that bars them from standing.

This was not the first time such an incident happened on his show. In 2021, former PTI leader Firdous Ashiq Awan got into a physical altercation with PPP MNA Qadir Khan Mandokhail. The video of the incident had gone viral on social media.

When asked, Chaudhry replied that Marwat was not the first choice of the show for panel guests. The PTI lawyer got the seat after Naeem Haider Panjutha at the eleventh hour refused to be part of the show due to a meeting.

Marwat’s name was decided after his recent tweet against party leader Shoaib Shaheen, whom he described as a “party traitor”.

He was responding to a query about the PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s return to Pakistan on October 21 when Afnan intervened. According to the Kal Tak host, this is the format of a talk show where a guest contradicts and interrupts while another speaks to present their argument.

He added that the format of every talk show was that where no party can sit silent. They have to present their arguments, the anchorperson said, admitting that sometimes guests use some harsh words and even use “abusive language”.

Marwat had termed the former prime minister as a convict who allegedly had made a deal with former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa to go to London.

Chaudhry said they had learned from the Firdous incident that they should not make it live as anything can happen.

According to the senior journalist, Marwat rose from his seat when Afnan started interrupting. Chaudhry was of the view that the PTI leader was staging a walkout, but it was not like that as he slapped the PML-N leader. In reaction, Afnan rose from his seat and pushed him back.

The PML-N senator had overpowered the PTI lawyer. It was the team members of the show that ended the fight and “dragged” Afnan “who pounced on Marwat”, taking full control of him.

Chadhury stated that it was Marwat who first raised his hand.

“In a few seconds everyone was stunned as you are an anchor if you bring out a pistol from your pocket everyone will be confused as this cannot be thought,” he said while trying to explain the situation.

Chaudhry claimed he had given an explanation about the incident in his vlog after Marwat spoke about the incident to a reporter and on the ARY News show.

He told this scribe that both the guests were injured in the scuffle.

When asked about why it happens in his show, the senior journalist countered by asking why it was always PTI leaders opting for such acts.

“This [Kal Tak] is an old show and has been running for the past 16 years. There are three stable shows in Pakistan. This is one of them, I do four shows in a week, 16 in a month, and 3,072 in a year and only two events have been reported in it. So you cannot say it is always on my show. You can have a ratio.”

He reiterated that it was a tragedy and it should not have happened.

“Is there any scanning machine that we should ask a person to go through it in order to know their mood or have a medical test,” Chaudhry said, “whenever a guest is invited it is presumed that they are mature and not coming for the first time on the show.”