Islamabad: After Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s objectionable comment against Pakistan Muslim League-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz during his Multan rally, politicians, journalists and civil societies members criticized Khan for his “sexist and misogynist” statement, a local media reported.

Addressing the Multan rally, Imran Khan, citing Nawaz’s Sargodha rally said, “In that speech, she uttered my name with such passion that I would like to tell her, Maryam, please be careful, your husband may get upset because you were constantly repeating my name.” Following his comment, many politicians, journalists and civil society members poured out their strong disapproval on social media, Geo News reported.

Taking to Twitter, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who also happens to be Nawaz’s paternal uncle, expressed strong disapproval of Imran Khan’s statement and said that the entire nation, especially women, should strongly condemn the “deplorable language used against the daughter of the nation Maryam Nawaz.”

“Your crimes against the country and the nation cannot be hidden under your lowly humour. How could those — who cannot respect the sanctity of Masjid Nabawi (PBUH) — be expected to respect the honour of someone’s mothers, sisters, and daughters?” Sharif tweeted.

“Imran is the first person in history to fall into this abyss of rudeness as the leader of a party. His party went out to make a nation but spoiled the morals of the people instead. To Allah, we belong and to Him, we shall return,” he added.

تاریخ کا پہلا شخص ہے جو ایک جماعت کے سربراہ کے طور پر بدتہذیبی کے اس پاتال میں جا گرا ہے۔ قوم بنانے نکلے تھے اور قوم کے اخلاق کو ہی بگاڑ دیا۔ انا للّٰہ وانا الیہ راجعون

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) May 20, 2022

Reacting to the Imran Khan’s sexist comment, former President Asif Ali Zardari said that he condemned the derogatory language used by the PTI Chairman, reported Geo News.

“Those who have mothers and sisters in their homes do not use such language against other women,” the PPP co-chairman said. “Please, do not stoop so low in the name of politics.”

He further said that every person’s mother, sister, and daughter was worthy of respect and that was the message of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto to the nation.

Federal Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, taking to Twitter, also condemned Khan’s statement and said that the coalition government was trying to save the mothers and daughters of Pakistan from “this evil.”

“These are the same people who want to silence women journalists by calling them sell-outs [when they criticise their parties],” Geo News quoted Aurangzeb saying.