PM Imran bans Faisal Vawda from appearing on talk shows

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan banned Faisal Vawda on Thursday from appearing on any talk shows for two weeks, taking notice of the federal minister's boot gimmick from a few days ago. 

Vawda appeared on a talk show a couple of days ago and mocked the PML-N slogan "Vote Ko Izzat Do" by saying "Boot Ko Izzat Do", criticising the party for deviating from its stance and lending unconditional support for the services chief's tenure bills. He startled all by placing a black boot on top of a table.

Read more: Vawda brings boot to talk show, mocks PML-N's unconditional support for Army Act bill

"I am going to bring this [boot] to every talk show," he said. "This is how democratic the PML-N is. They lie down to kiss the boot," he added.

When asked why he was criticising the PML-N for supporting the PTI government on the Army Act bill, Vawda said: "It was our stance. We were doing it for the Pakistani nation and we stood firm [on our stance]."

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Firdous Ashiq Awan, confirmed that the prime minister took notice of the incident, banning Vawda from appearing on any talk shows for two weeks and has sought an explanation from the federal minister for the way he behaved. 

Read more: Vawda brings boot to talk show, mocks PML-N's unconditional support for Army Act bill

Faisal Vawda says PM Imran not happy with boot gimmick

The federal minister appeared on Capital Talk on Wednesday to reveal that Prime Minister Imran Khan was not happy with him over the boot incident. 

“I told the prime minister whatever he is saying is right. I assured him that it will not happen again and he will act responsibly,” said the federal minister.

“Nawaz Sharif and his family always maligned the institutions and weakened them,” said the minister.

Vawda said that he will never "intentionally malign any institution", adding that his act was being questioned while he only meant to point out the opposition’s reality.

He further said that he was not aware of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority's rules and "came to know them today".