Barbie vs Oppenheimer: Internet is obsessed with PTI’s Barrister Gohar, Sher Afzal Marwat

Millions of registered Pakistani citizens over the age of 18 participated in the country’s general election on Thursday. Marked by a suspension of cellular mobile services and unusual delays in polling results, the country’s return to electoral process in 2024 remains deeply mired in rigging accusations and uncertainty.

In these unusual times, citizens as per usual have taken to the internet with humour, one picture of two political figures becoming the latest trending template for hilarious memes. A candid of PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Senior Vice President Sher Afzal Marwat from a recent press conference is making rounds with many noting an interesting contrast in their demeanours.

Marwat, who has dominated internet the past week with some intense speeches to his voters, can be seen carrying a serious expression in the picture while Gohar calmly addresses the press. In a comical turn, one user on the microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter) has drawn parallels between Marwat’s concern and Gohar’s relative ease and the attitudes of the eldest daughter versus other siblings.

“I don’t know how to explain it but Sher Afzal Marwat can be cast as the main character of a Netflix show and I’d actually watch it,” contended another X user on the politician’s inexplicable charm. The PTI senior VP's cinematic potential was supported by another who remarked, "Hamza Ali Abbasi could play [Marwat] right in a movie."

As per another, Gohar and Marwat relay their “12 am and 1 pm personalities” respectively, embodying the all-too-familiar struggles of night owls begrudgingly going about their day.

For those who find nothing remarkable about the two men standing together, internet users put two separate pictures of the politicians, side by side, to further accentuate their different ‘vibes’. A brightly lit picture of Gohar carrying a slight frown with a pink background has got him dubbed ‘Barbie’ by some next to a dull-coloured snapshot of Marwat’ as ‘Oppenheimer,’ flaunting a brusque expression, marking the return of 2023’s viral Barbenheimer meme.

One post insisted that Gohar’s conduct is typical of how boys are seen in the company of girls whereas Marwat’s gruff approach is more fitting to when boys hang out with other boys. Others are hinting at a good boy vs bad boy analogy with the PTI chairman getting shelved as the former. “You vs the guy she tells you not to worry about,” read one post.

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