On Wednesday, Shahbaz Gill, while speaking on journalist Hamid Mir’s show, said that he had heard about the use of ‘province card’, but this was the first time that he saw a ‘province mask’ being played by the opposition.
He also drew an analogy between masks worn by people, including himself, and the cloths used to restrain calves from drinking milk. He went onto say that the mask worn by Bilawal, with the Ajrak print, is more close to the one used on calves, as both have ‘colourful’ print.
Sindh Information Minister Nasir Hussain Shah reacted strongly on the PM’s aide statement, he said: “Don’t go to such lengths to secure your job that you don’t even care about a nation’s feelings and emotions. Ajrak is just not the pride of Sindh but of Pakistan. It is difficult for parachutters like you to understand this, Shahbaz Gill.”
https://twitter.com/SyedNasirHShah/status/1285967234150670337?s=20
Following his remarks, #AjrakIsOurPride started trending on Twitter. People are criticising Shahbaz Gill for degrading cultural identities just for political scoring. They are also sharing their own pictures wearing Ajrak.
https://twitter.com/mosharrafzaidi/status/1286028659300675585?s=20
https://twitter.com/zeeshan_shah_dc/status/1286003467916578816?s=20
https://twitter.com/ShehnilaZardari/status/1286028868315426816?s=20
PPP lawmaker Shazia Atta Marri said: “#AjrakIsOurPride & to hell with the joker who made fun of an #Ajrak cloth mask - they are stooping lower with each passing day but have miserably failed to perform and deliver. People are suffering due to their incompetence and they have no answers.”
https://twitter.com/ShaziaAttaMarri/status/1286030544787177472?s=20
https://twitter.com/tanzeeltweets1/status/1286029607989379073?s=20
https://twitter.com/MustafaBaloch_/status/1286022554344476679?s=20
https://twitter.com/AbdullahDayo/status/1285999362519314438?s=20
A social media user said, “If you hate our traditions, our culture and our history. Please get out of our country. It is clear that you hate us.”
https://twitter.com/AqsaLeelaJamali/status/1286047186082463744?s=20
https://twitter.com/ajmaljami/status/1286032695605297152?s=20
https://twitter.com/Hassnaain/status/1286048796921802753?s=20