Atiqa Odho condemns PTI supporters’ harassment of Marriyum Aurangzeb in London cafe, calls it ‘unacceptable’

There is no justification for bullying people, certainly not on political or ideological differences. Actor Atiqa Odho, who has expressed support for the PTI in the past and is married to PTI leader Samar Ali Khan, stood up for PML-N member and Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb after she was harassed by PTI supporters in the streets of London.

Multiple videos of the incident have been shared on social media showing Aurangzeb being heckled by people wearing PTI scarves in a Pret a Manger branch. In another video, some of the same people chanting “chorni, chorni [thief]” can be seen following a masked Aurangzeb, as the woman filming her says she “makes grand claims on television there but she does not have a dupatta on her head [today]”. The politician remained calm and nonreactive during the entire incident.

On Monday, Odho shared a clip of the information minister narrating her side of the story after the incident and defended her. “I agree with Marriyum Aurangzeb. You may not agree with someone’s politics but harassment of this nature is unacceptable as not the way to solve national issues. Shows a very poor side of Pakistan to the world when overseas Pakistani’s behave in this manner. They become a part of the problem and not the solution,” she wrote.

She addressed her friends and fans and requested them to take a more dignified approach and work through the voting system if they are not happy. “You achieve nothing with bad and immature behaviour. Don’t get carried away by emotion and lack of proof or correct information. Get your facts right, have evidence for them and then follow the law always. Otherwise you are playing with Pakistan’s future,” she concluded.

In the video Aurangzeb can be heard talking about how people must behave with one another. “There is a way of doing things,” she said, trying to appeal to people emotionally by asking how they’d feel if it were their sisters or mothers being harassed in the streets like this.

“Ten minutes ago 20 PTI supporters with mics were abusing me here, they were calling out names without a reaction from me,” she said, adding that she has faced this before but it doesn’t affect her in the way they want. She explained what she is concerned with is how this behaviour impacts Pakistan’s image abroad.

PM Shehbaz Sharif was among many who commended her for her levelheadedness in this situation.

It is never okay to target someone for having different beliefs as you in such an aggressive way. Disagree with their politics all you want, but harassing someone is not okay.