Ishaq Dar, the finance minister, lost his cool with a reporter at Parliament House after being questioned about the conclusion of the stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) plan.
Dar was leaving the Parliament building after delivering a speech to the National Assembly when a reporter named Shahid Qureshi started to interview him. His security officers accompanied Dar at the time. In a video shared by the journalist, the incident unfolded with Qureshi questioning Dar while they both descended the stairs. Qureshi asked, “Dar sahib, will you share your thoughts today?” to which the minister responded, “I have already spoken extensively at the National Assembly.”
The journalist then inquired if the IMF agreement was “happening” and mentioned Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s meeting with the IMF director earlier that day, which took place on the margins of a summit in Paris. Dar remained mute, though. When Qureshi questioned why the administration had been unable to achieve the contract, the finance minister responded, “Because people like you are in the system.” The reporter argued, “We are not in the system” and “We just ask questions” in defense of himself. Dar then turned around and glared aggressively at the reporter as he approached the parking lot. The question “What do you want?” Dar instructed the reporter to “fear God” in his question.
“Sir,” inquired Qureshi, “may I know the reason behind your fight?” His security team swiftly intervened and guided him toward the awaiting car. Later, the reporter made another video and described the whole scenario in it. “Today, I was standing there right after the finance minister left the NA. I questioned him about the delay in finalizing the agreement with the IMF as a reporter and journalist who follows the economy beat,” Qureshi added. “At first, he [Dar] claimed that he had spoken in the Parliament, but when I mentioned that I wanted to talk about the IMF, Ishaq Dar’s security guards were ordered to stop me. The journalist said, “They grabbed me from both sides after which Ishaq Dar slapped me,” adding that he had taped the entire episode.
Dar instructed his security guards to pursue me and discipline me as I walked away. Those security guards pursued me to the second floor of the Parliament, where I proceeded to the PRA office and eventually arrived at the Press Gallery,” Qureshi continued. The Parliamentary Reporters Association (PRA) condemned the conduct in a statement following the incident. In the statement, the group stated that senior parliamentary reporter Qureshi had experienced “violence by Ishaq Dar’s guards” and “disrespectful behavior,” which it “strongly condemns.” The PRA required Dar to apologize to the reporter and promised not to engage in such “aggressive behavior” again.
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According to the statement, the PRA reserved the right to protest and leave the budget session if Dar did not apologize. The association also urged Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, speaker of the National Assembly, to pay attention to the issue.
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