ISLAMABAD: While being interviewed on camera for an Indian media outlet, Reham Khan, former wife of Prime Minister-in-waiting Imran Khan, was approached by a Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaaf (PTI) supporter who took the chance run-in as an opportunity to question Khan aggressively.
Reham gets trolled in the Park in UK while preparing to give interview to Indian media along with his son. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/S4obhJEvey
— Ahmed Sa£¡M (@Ahmadd_Saleem) August 6, 2018
Trolling, an online form of harassment which ranges from tongue-in-cheek jabs to full-on threats, came to life as the troller behind the camera began peppering accusations and questions at Khan ranging from whether she was jealous of Imran Khan’s new wife Bushra Bibi to whether she was joining Ayesha Gulalai’s party (because of, as she puts it, their shared mentality) to whether she was jealous that nobody was interviewing her in Pakistan to accusing her of hiding in a park.
Reham chihtrol part 2/2 pic.twitter.com/qkrA5GAPQm
— Ahmed Sa£¡M (@Ahmadd_Saleem) August 6, 2018
Khan maintained her cool and implored the woman behind the camera to take a breath and speak with her calmly.
As the video has circulated more than 40,000 times, many have applauded Khan for her composure and speaking to the woman with respect, even offering to send her a free copy of her book.
All the video did was made me a fan of @RehamKhan1 for being so patient & tolerating troll harassment - the PTI supporter should spend less time harassing another woman & stop leader worshipping someone who has been aggressively against women rights & pro Taliban justice. https://t.co/BAEEPcXKQB
— Bakhtawar B-Zardari (@BakhtawarBZ) August 7, 2018
Lately Khan, the soon-to-be first lady, has had mixed coverage from the media following the release of her eponymously titled book.
She recently was in a Twitter spat with Pakistani-American comedian Zaid Ali T, following months of arguments with PTI party members and supporters.
Absoulety disgusting behavior towards @RehamKhan1 ... you don't have to like her but this is harassment. Everyone should be able to walk the street with their kids in peace. https://t.co/V1tchN4FyG
— Mahdia (@MehdiaTime) August 6, 2018
As support for Reham Khan piled on, Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, daughter of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and PPP Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, also commented on the video on her official Twitter account, taking the opportunity to back up Khan while also throwing a slight jab at the PTI and their followers.
Respectable Reham Khan pic.twitter.com/AP3vrklXzd
— Shahid Jamil (@shahid55jamil) August 6, 2018
“All the video did was made me a fan of @RehamKhan1 for being so patient and tolerating troll harassment — the PTI supporter should spend less time harassing another woman and stop leader-worshipping someone who has been aggressively against women rights and pro Taliban justice,” tweeted Bakhtawar.
1 can disagree with Reham Khan’s tirade, even possibly can question the veracity of the content, probably accuse her harbouring axe to grind, but certainly cannot ridicule her in such a way.Let us learn to disagree without being disagreeable.@Razarumi @RehamKhan1 https://t.co/Me4g0jQM9R
— Akhlaq Ullah Tarar (@akhlaqtarar5959) August 7, 2018
Others also spoke out on the video, including PTI supporters (according to their Twitter bios).
The sentiment was largely that regardless of what you believe or who you support, the woman behind the camera handled the interaction aggressively and maintained her position to attack Khan, while Khan took the high road, and it showed.
"If Allah sent you, he could've sent someone more intelligent" lmaoooo.
But seriously, this video is so infuriating. Props to Reham for staying so calm and collected. https://t.co/EEwwR8HQLT— Mahnoor Ahmed (@MahnoorZAhmed) August 7, 2018
