Nawaz Sharif's party calls for boycott of Uber’s local unit. Here's why

Careem Pakistan, controlled by Uber, accused of 'pushing political agendas' with marketing campaign

The party of Pakistan’s Prime Minister-in-waiting Shehbaz Sharif is calling for the boycott of a ride-hailing company for using a catchphrase popularized by the supporters of his rival — jailed former premier Imran Khan.

Careem Pakistan is controlled by Uber Technologies Inc

A senior leader from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party said on X that Careem Pakistan’s use of the slogan “program gone bust” in a social media campaign was a “useless marketing tactic to stay relevant” and called on users to find other ride hailing services.

The party accused the company, controlled by Uber Technologies Inc., of “pushing political agendas” in another X post. Careem Pakistan’s marketing campaign ran after the South Asian country’s most contentious elections, Dawn newspaper reported.

The catchphrase was popularized by Khan’s supporters and it refers to the resounding success of the independent candidates backed by his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party who won the most seats in last week’s elections despite a government crackdown. The phrase was first coined by a PTI leader after a brawl with a PML-N politician on a television show last year, according to Dawn.

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Careem Pakistan said the post was to advertise the function to pre-book a ride. It denied that it had anything to do with politics.

Careem Pakistan appears to have taken down the posts.

The furore shows the impact of the polarizing election results on public discourse in Pakistan, particularly on social media. PML-N had come in second place in the elections but is on course to form government over the next few days or weeks as the party and other political groups band together to thwart Khan’s loyalists.