‘Salesman’ Munir, ‘manager’ Sharif: Pak leaders mocked for rare earth display
‘Salesman’ Munir, ‘manager’ Sharif: Pakistani Parliamentarian mocks leaders for touting rare earths to Trump
A day after US President Donald Trump heaped praise on Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, his own countryman and Parliamentarian Aimal Wali Khan lashed out at the military leader, accusing him of behaving 'like a salesman' touting rare earth minerals during his visit to the White House last week.
Khan's attack on Munir comes on the back of the Army chief showcasing a box of rare earth minerals to Trump, a photo of which was widely shared on social media.
Not mincing words, Khan charged, "Our chief of army staff is roaming around with a briefcase containing rare earth minerals. What a joke! It was absolute mockery. Whoever saw that photo thought, ‘Which chief of the army staff would go around carrying a briefcase with rare earth minerals?'."
"To me, it looked like a big, branded store – a manager watched on happily as a shopkeeper tells a customer to purchase a big, glittery thing from him," the Awami National Party president said, referring to Munir as the shopkeeper and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as the store manager.
The Pakistani Parliamentarian went as far to label his own country a dictatorship, saying, "In what capacity? Under which law? This is dictatorship. I am sorry to say this is not democracy...is this not contempt of parliament?"
Earlier, when the photo was doing the rounds on social media, Khan had mocked it, writing, "An elite designer shop ( a newly established). The picture defines the characters (sic)."
Khan's outrage against Sharif and Munir come at a time when Pakistan has been trying to cozy up to Trump, with the latest trip being the Army chief's third to Washington since the brief India-Pakistan conflict that broke out in May.
Since then, Trump has repeatedly asserted that he mediated between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, and even claimed that Munir had thanked him for saving the lives of millions.
While New Delhi has consistently rejected the US President's assertions, Pakistan, on the other hand, has nominated Trump for Nobel Peace Prize for his self-proclaimed role in brokering a truce.
Source: LiveMint
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