Former cricketer and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has repeatedly made headlines for the blunders during his speeches. From saying that Japan and Germany shared a border to declaring trees produce oxygen at night, the PTI leader is often mocked as 'Im the Dim'. However, his 'slip of the tongue' on Thursday is likely to have serious ramifications.
Imran Khan, speaking in the National Assembly during the budget session, called slain al Qaeda chief and 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden a "shaheed" (martyr) and said that Islamabad faced "embarrassment" by taking part in America's war on terror.
"I don't think there's a country which supported the war on terror and had to face embarrassment for it. Pakistan was also openly blamed for US' failure in Afghanistan," Khan said.
"For Pakistanis across the globe, it was an embarrassing moment when the Americans came and killed Osama bin Laden at Abbottabad...martyred him. The whole world started abusing us after that. Our ally came inside our country and killed someone without informing us. And, 70,000 Pakistanis died because of US' war on terror," he said.
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On Friday, #ImranBinLaden started trending on Twitter after the video went viral on social media.
"Bin Laden was the reason of terrorism in Pakistan. Thousands of Pakistanis laid down their lives in the war agsinst terror. And glorifying terrorist like him is nothing short of betraying the blood of his fellow Pakistanis. Imran khan proved this Taliban mentality #ImranBinLaden," a Twitter user wrote.
"This statement will do so much international damage to Pakistan we can’t even imagine! #ImranBinLaden," said another Twitter user.
Here are a few Twitter reactions:
