Former president of Pakistan, Arif Alvi, has responded to the government’s latest move to ban the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and file references against him and ex-prime minister Imran Khan under Article 6, with a witty and humorous literary reference. In a social media post, Alvi compared Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar’s press conference to a situation described by the renowned Urdu humorist, Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi.
Alvi’s post, written in Urdu, roughly translates to: “While watching television, especially after today’s press conference, I was greatly reminded of the late Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi. Due to some friends, I had the honour of knowing him and would meet him every few months at a khichdi gathering in Karachi. He used to say to his friend Mirza: My dear fellow, you speak like a human, but by God, your emotions are like those of a horse. As there is no mention of intelligence in this, otherwise, he could have compared him to another animal. Allah knows best.”
Tarar, in his press conference, announced that the government would seek to ban the PTI, citing allegations against Khan, including leaking state secrets and inciting riots. Alvi’s response, however, was not a direct attack on the government’s move but rather a clever use of literary reference to poke fun at the emotional nature of humans, particularly in the context of politics.
The comparison of Mirza’s emotions to those of a horse is a clever quip by Yousufi, highlighting how humans can be driven by their emotions, much like horses, which are known for their unpredictable behavior. This witty remark has been used by Alvi to draw a parallel between the emotional nature of humans and the current political climate in Pakistan.
The PTI has responded strongly to the government’s move, with a spokesperson stating that the party “will not tolerate” the effort to ban it. “The PTI has become stronger than before. We will face it,” Raoof Hasan said. The party has also received a boost from a landmark Supreme Court ruling, which granted it more parliamentary seats, and the overturning of Khan’s conviction for illegal marriage.
However, Khan remains jailed over other cases, and a UN panel of experts has called for his immediate release, stating that his detention “had no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him from running for political office”. The prosecution was deemed “not grounded in law and was reportedly instrumentalised for a political purpose”.
