Aamir Liaquat Husain, a Member of Pakistan's National Assembly from Prime Minister Imran Khan's PTI party, has had a reputation for expressing controversial views. Husain, a popular TV chat show host and televangelist, joined the PTI in 2018.
On Tuesday, Husain tweeted a screenshot that featured Maryam Nawaz, daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Maryam Nawaz, who is currently vice-president of the PML-N party, has been at the forefront of opposition protests against the Imran Khan government. The screenshot of Maryam Nawaz was of a news channel that quoted her as saying, "They (government) will now see a second version of me," Pakistan's Dawn reported.
Controversially, Husain accompanied the screenshot with the image of an angry Hindu goddess, calling it "Maryam's dusra roop (second version)". The post soon earned flak, forcing Husain to delete it. On Wednesday night, Aamir Liaquat Husain tweeted an apology, stating, "I apologise for hurting the feelings of the Hindu community. The purpose was never like that. The tweet has been removed. I respect all religions. These are the teachings of my religion."
The post triggered outrage among prominent Hindus in Pakistan. PTI Member of the National Assembly from Tharparkar Ramesh Kumar Vankwani warned of holding protests and seeking action against Husain under the country's blasphemy law. Vankwani tweeted, "Strongly condemned this shameful act by someone who claims to be a religious scholar also but doesn't know respect to other religions. Delete this tweet immediately otherwise we reserve right to demand strict action under the Blasphemy Act and protest across the country."
Vankwani was quoted by Dawn as saying, the "post [by Husain] had not only hurt the sentiments of Hindus across the country but also created resentment among supporters of the ruling party who admired party chief and Prime Minister Imran Khan and believed in the party's manifesto regarding protecting the rights of religious minorities".
PTI MNA from Umerkot Lal Malhi tweeted, Aamir Liaquat Husain's post was a "blasphemous act" and called on Imran Khan to take note of the "immoral act". Malhi argued, "No religion including Islam permits him to do such illogical acts".
Pakistani Hindu human rights activist Kapil Dev was quoted by Dawn as saying, "Hindus are abused and their religious sentiments are hurt even by those sitting in the parliaments."
Serial rabble-rouser
Aamir Liaquat Husain is no stranger to outrageous comments. In May last year, during a TV chat show after the death of Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan, Husain joked that the Indian stars Pakistani actor Adnan Siddiqui worked with had died prematurely.
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Talking to Siddiqui, Husain was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying, "You worked in Mom and Sridevi died, you worked with Irrfan Khan as well and he passed away. You were offered roles in Mardaani 2 and Jism 2, but you declined, so the actors of that movie(s) owe their life to you." Husain issued an apology for the comments.
In 2017, a show by Husain was banned by the Pakistan government after he called for the execution of five human rights activists in Pakistan, who had disappeared mysteriously, on charges of sedition and blasphemy.
In 2008 and 2014, provocative comments by scholars on Husain's shows led to attacks on Pakistan's embattled Ahamadiya community, leaving three people dead.
