Zardari heckled at UK rally

BIRMINGHAM: An elderly man threw a pair of shoes at President Asif Ali Zardari during a political rally in Birmingham, according to The Telegraph newspaper.

Zardari was in the middle of a speech when a man in the 1,000- strong crowd hurled both shoes at him. The gesture is considered a traditional insult.

An unidentified man was later ejected by police and security officials from the meeting, which was marked by noisy protests outside.

“Zardari was in the middle of a long campaign speech when a man towards the back of the crowd hurled the shoes at him,” said one eyewitness. “They landed short of him, and it wasn’t clear what exactly the man was protesting about.”

Earlier, hundreds of demonstrators from various standpoints gathered outside the  International Convention Centre venue in Birmingham, chanting and waving placards.

With the flooding disaster affecting up to 15 million people in Pakistan, Zardari has come under fire from some quarters for continuing with his trip to Europe during the crisis.

Some demonstrators were holding placards and banners and shouted slogans against Zardari. Some placards read, “1000s dying, president is holidaying”, “Thousands killed, millions homeless, what president is laughing for?” and “Are the Zardaris enjoying England while Pakistan drowns?”.

Muhammed Khalil, a local official from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was among the protestors. “His own people are dying for food, there’s calamity there,” he told AFP. “He should be there organising for his own people. Instead he’s here with so many people. The government is paying all the expense for that. That money should be spent on the people of Pakistan, not on himself.”

Taji Mustafa of the Hizb-ut-Tahrir said Pakistanis were outraged. “There is no self-respecting leader in the world who in this time of dire national crisis, while people are drowning, he is drowning in enjoyment, he is drowning having lavish dinners in the company of his die-hard supporters,” he said.

Wajid Ali Burkey, a PPP business forums coordinator in Britain, defended Zardari as he went into the event. “In the last 70 years we have not had such a disaster. But I don’t think the president being there or not being there would have made any difference,” he told AFP. The demonstrators “have a right of opinion to believe he should not have come, but I personally believe it is very important.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 8^th, 2010.