ISLAMABAD: A journalist has claimed that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar attacked him when he asked the minister about the completion of the stalled International Monetary Fund (IMD) program.
After addressing a National Assembly session, Dar, flanked by his security guards, was departing the Parliament building when a reporter — identified as Shahid Qureshi — asked him some questions.
اسحاق ڈار آج صحافی کے سوال پر غصے میں آگئے،موبائل پکڑ لیا، صحافی نے اتنا پوچھا کہ آئی ایم ایف سے مذاکرات کب کامیاب ہوں گے؟۔۔۔!!! pic.twitter.com/jiAmBCcMWT
— Mughees Ali (@mugheesali81) June 22, 2023
Journalist Shahid Hussain said, “Being a journalist, I asked Ishaq Dar why the agreement is not being made with IMF, over which he got angry and he called the security personnel to arrest him (the journalist).”
He further said that Dar asked the security personnel to snatch his mobile and teach him a lesson.
A video of the incident, shared by the journalist in question, shows Dar going down the stairs as Qureshi asked him: “Dar sahib, will you talk today?”
The minister replied, “I just came out [of the NA] after speaking so much.”
At that, the journalist enquired if the IMF deal was “happening” and referred to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s meeting with the IMF chief today, which took place on the sidelines of a summit in Paris today. However, Dar remained silent.
Qureshi then asked the reason for the government’s failure to secure the deal, to which the finance minister said, “Because people like you are in the system.”
The reporter said “we are not in the system” and “we just ask questions”. At that point, Dar, who had reached the parking lot by that time, turned around angrily towards the journalist.
“What do you want?” Dar asked the reporter and told him to “fear the God”.
“Why are you fighting, sir?” Qureshi responded, after which the minister’s security personnel intervened and escorted him towards the vehicle.
Later, the reporter released another video in which he detailed the entire incident.
