By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: A reporter was slapped by finance minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday after asking him about the stalled negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.
The reporter, Shahid Qureshi, who covers the economy for a local news outlet, approached the minister Dar as he was leaving the Parliament building after addressing a National Assembly session.
In a video of the incident that Qureshi shared online, he can be heard asking Dar if he would comment on the IMF deal and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s meeting with the fund’s chief in Paris earlier in the day.
Dar ignored the questions and walked toward his car, but then turned around and told Qureshi to “fear God.” He then slapped him and instructed his security guards to “teach him a lesson,” according to Qureshi.
Dar’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Parliamentary Reporters Association condemned Dar’s “violence” and “disrespectful behavior” and demanded an apology from him. It also urged the speaker of the National Assembly, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, to take notice of the incident.
The association said it reserved the right to walk out of the budget session and protest if Dar did not apologise.
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