Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan’s debut on social networking website Twitter has turned out to be a disaster as fellow Pakistanis booed him calling him a “failed politician” and a Taliban supporter.
Khan’s arrival on Twitter was announced on Friday night by his ex-wife Jemima Khan. “For the Pakistani contingent — Imran is now on Twitter and will be tweeting daily,” wrote Jemima.
Within minutes, Pakistan Twitteratti swung into action. Senior journalist Mehmal Sarfraz posted: “Oh my god! He was the only ***** missing!” Another member, called FiveRupees, tweeted, “Oh God. Check out who just joined Twitter... I also love that he’s following Jemima Khan. Presumably Hugh Grant is next.” So far, Jemima is the only person Khan is following on the site.
While some members wondered if tweeting was halal (lawful) in Islam, others were curious if Khan would use Twitter to post fatwas. “We need a fatwa...on whether Twitter is halal or not...,” wrote Sarfraz.
Khan’s tweets had him cornered by his critics on the website. Addressing claims that he backs the Taliban, Khan wrote, “There is not one statement I have given supporting the Taliban.” In response, a member asked, “Yeah right! Have you ever given an anti-Taliban statement?” One Twitter follower wrote, “We need to get rid of you!”
{{/usCountry}}Khan’s tweets had him cornered by his critics on the website. Addressing claims that he backs the Taliban, Khan wrote, “There is not one statement I have given supporting the Taliban.” In response, a member asked, “Yeah right! Have you ever given an anti-Taliban statement?” One Twitter follower wrote, “We need to get rid of you!”
{{/usCountry}}