The viral confrontation raises fresh questions about whether the former journalist has the temperament for Pakistani politics.
Iqrar ul Hassan, the veteran broadcast journalist famous for his hard-hitting sting operation show Sar-e-Aam, has found himself on the wrong side of public opinion after a heated airport confrontation was caught on camera.
When Iqrar landed at Lahore Airport, an FIA officer reportedly remarked that he would share the fate of Jawad Ahmed, a comment that visibly angered the journalist-turned-politician. Rather than letting it pass, Iqrar filmed the officer and publicly labeled him a PTI supporter, suggesting political bias as the motive behind the remark.
The video spread rapidly, and the court of public opinion ruled decisively against Iqrar.
Now, in a YouTube video addressing the controversy, Iqrar has offered his version of events. He claims he personally contacted the FIA Director and requested that the officer not face suspension. He insists the incident was blown out of proportion by what he calls “fake propaganda,” and that he never wanted the officer to lose his livelihood.
However, he stood firm on one point: since the officer targeted him, PTI supporters should rally behind the man and defend him.
The public is not buying it.
Social media users have been unsparing in their criticism. “You should have remained calm like that officer,” one user wrote. Another questioned, “How will you become a politician with such anger issues?” A third comment cut sharper still: “You can only do this to a poor person.”
Iqrar spent 21 years at ARY Network before resigning and launching his Awam Raj Party. His career through the years, marked by powerful programming, memorable diction, and a turbulent personal life, kept him in the headlines. But this latest episode has put him in a spotlight he likely did not anticipate.
For a man who built his reputation exposing wrongdoing, being cast as the aggressor against a low-ranking government official is a difficult image to shake.
Here’s his response.
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