Video shows Ahsan Iqbal heckled in restaurant by PTI supporters

• Pro-PTI supporters exasperate planning minister by chanting slogans against him at restaurant.
• Twitterati condemn incident, calls it "manifestation of growing intolerance in politics".
• "Instead of holding a dialogue with me, they started chanting slogans,” Iqbal writes on Twitter.

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Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal was heckled by a group of PTI supporters on Friday when he went to a restaurant, a viral video has shown. 

The visuals of the incident, where the pro-PTI supporters could be seen hurling abuses at the minister, took social media by storm as people started sharing the video on Twitter.

Many Twitterati condemned the incident and called it a manifestation of growing intolerance in politics.

The incident took place at a popular fast-food outlet where the lawmaker had visited to have dinner. Later on, taking to Twitter, Iqbal wrote: “Today, a family — who apparently considered themselves elites and supported PTI — clashed with me.”

“Instead of holding a dialogue with me they started chanting slogans,” he wrote, adding that as a counter-attack, other people present at the restaurant also started chanting slogans against the PTI.

Criticising the PTI Chairman Imran Khan for instilling hatred among people, Iqbal wrote: “Just like their ignorant and lunatic leader, his supporters are following suit.”

Retweeting a condemnation tweet, the planning minister further said: “These people, who claim to be literates, are actually ignorant and fascist just like the followers of Hitler."

“We are neither going to get intimidated by them nor we would surrender because of them,” he wrote, adding that such people are the moving proof of PTI's “mental bankruptcy”.

“Imran [Khan] is polarising the society at the behest of illicit funders,” he added.

'Wear burqa in public', Fawad tells Iqbal

Responding to the viral video tweet, former information minister and PTI senior leader Fawad Chaudhry negated Iqbal’s claims that other people present at the restaurant chanted slogans against the PTI.

“Sir, in this video, only your disrespect could be seen. Stop lying,” he wrote on Twitter, advising Iqbal to "go in public wearing a burqa."

Twitter divided over today's incident

Following the incident, Iqbal was trending on Twitter as tweeps shared their take on today’s incident.

Punjab Finance Minister Awais Leghari condemned the incident, calling the people who heckled the planning minister as “illiterate”.

Twitter user Omer Azhar mentioned that the folks screaming and harassing Iqbal don’t know that Pakistan ranked worse in Transparency International corruption index under Imran Khan, Bushra, Farah axis.

Meanwhile, a Twitter user, while condemning the incident, also criticised the PML-N leader for using foul language.

“Ahsan Iqbal Sir, I consider you a very educated person. It was condemnable that this happened but you saying "peerni" makes you morally illiterate.”

Another PTI supporter wrote: “Early elections are urgently needed otherwise public anger could be dangerous for this ‘imported government’ and those who brought this government.”