Daily Times

Federal Minister for Housing Tariq Bashir Cheema of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), which is an ally of the ruling PTI, came under fire on Tuesday after video clips surfaced on social media allegedly showing several of his family members getting vaccinated for the coronavirus, a private TV channel reported.

The video clips, which were originally shared on the Instagram account of one of Cheema’s relatives, showed health workers vaccinating several people gathered at someone’s home. The people in the video can be seen flashing the thumbs-up sign after being administered the jab. Former model and television host Iffat Omar was also tagged in one of the Instagram videos.

However, the minister in a statement reported by TV channels denied using his political influence to have members of his family vaccinated. He claimed that teams from the University of Health Sciences Lahore had come to his home to administer a booster shot of a trial vaccine.

Meanwhile, Iffat Omar shared the news clip of a TV channel reporting Cheema’s statement, saying, “Folks — take it easy!”

The video clips stirred up a storm on social media as netizens called out the minister and the model for ‘jumping the queue’ for Covid-19 vaccination. The government is currently only vaccinating health workers and those above the age of 60 while registration of those above the age of 50 has started from Tuesday.

The news also caught attention of Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Communication Shehbaz Gill, who lambasted Omar for the ‘shameful act’. “These fake liberals are liberal to the extent of swearing. They have no morels or shame. They portray themselves as law-abiding citizens but their actions show otherwise,” he said.