Prime Minister Imran Khan has taken notice of the spat between Shoaib Akhtar and Dr. Nauman Niaz and has directed the PTV network committee to take immediate action on the incident.
According to Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan PM Imran was appalled at the arrogance of Dr. Nauman Niaz and said that this is no way to treat Pakistan’s national heroes. He appreciated Shoaib’s efforts of trying to resolve the issue despite being embarrassed in front of the entire nation. He said that no one has the right to ask anybody to leave the show, and he should have thought a hundred times before insulting Shoaib.
The incident between Shoaib and Dr. Nauman occurred during the post-match discussion after Pakistan’s magnificent five-wicket victory over New Zealand. Dr. Nauman was apparently annoyed at Shoaib’s condescending tone and told him to leave the show as he was being rude and over-smart.
Despite being taken aback by Dr. Nauman’s statement, Shoaib tried to resolve the issue by calming the situation down and asking Dr. Nauman to apologize. Shoaib insisted a few times that Dr. Nauman apologize, but Dr. Nauman refused to do so. Consequently, Shoaib decided to tender his resignation from PTV on live television as he explained that he was humiliated and embarrassed in front of the entire nation.
The two personalities have since been suspended from on-air activities as the PTV network has established a committee to further review the incident. Shoaib revealed that he has already resigned, so there is no point in PTV’s committee moving him off-air. Dr. Nauman, on the other hand, has not talked about the matter since his suspension.
