LONDON: Only an hour after Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb was heckled in London by PTI supporters, she termed people who had interrupted her as ‘our brother and sisters.’
Marriyum has won praises for not reacting to PTI supporters when they followed her on Edgeware Road as she walked and confronted her at the Pret a Manger sandwich shop, where she bought a soda cane.
Several PTI supporters, both men and women, with party flags and caps called her a ‘thief’ and ‘honourless’ and used strong language for other PMLN leaders as well. At least one of them was carrying a megaphone.
Some women come very close to Marriyum, who did not react, but took a video of the group. She smiled at them at least once.
This group also followed Aurangzeb on Edgeware Road.
In one of the clips taken inside the sandwich shop, Marriyum Aurangzeb is seen calmly explaining to another smaller group of PTI supporters that overseas Pakistanis still had the right to vote in Pakistan general elections and this right was first ensured by then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 2017.
The recent amendment was only about the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), she said.
She said that while PTI supporters were justified in exercising their right to the freedom of expression, they should never have harassed a woman on the street. “PTI supporters while holding mics here, they were abusing me. They were calling out names on me,” she told a woman who spoke to her.
“I was asked three questions and I have responded to them,” said the information minister.
Later in a tweet, Marriyum Aurangzeb said that she was “sad to see the toxic impact IK’s politics of hate & divisiveness has had on our brothers & sisters.”
“I stayed & answered each & every question they had. Sadly, they are victims of IK’s propaganda. We will continue our work to counter IK’s toxic politics & bring people together,” she added.
Several PMLN leaders, including fellow ministers, and party supporters have praised Marriyum Aurangzeb for her composure.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that she responded “with grace.”
“By her calm & honorable conduct, she exposed the ugly face of the harassers & their promoters,” he said.
PMLN Vice President Maryam Nawaz Sharif said she was proud of Aurangzeb.
However, PTI supporters have been saying that Marriyum failed to explain why the current government amended the EVM law.
Meanwhile, there is a flood of memes on social media from both PMLN and PTI supporters over the incident.
#MaryamAurangzeb has become one of the top trends in Pakistan.
