PM close aides trade barbs over slain miners issue

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s closes aides Shehbaz Gill and Nadeem Afzal Chan had a mild “exchange of fire” on Twitter on Sunday, a day after the premier visited Quetta to meet families of the 11 Shia Hazara coalminers who were murdered by militants in the Mach area in Balochistan early last week. 

Nadeem Afzal Chan tweeted, “I’m ashamed of bodies of these helpless labourers.” 

In response, Shehbaz Gill tweeted without mentioning Nadeem Afzal Chan’s name, “When your leader makes a difficult decision, it is also difficult to defend him. It’s easy for me to keep quiet, disappear from the media and support the narrative popular among the masses.” 

Nadeem Afzal Chan hit back at Gill in these words, “This is a reflection of my weak faith that I showed sympathy with the victims. Today’s popular narrative is to hurl abuses at politicians. I did not do it in the past and I would not do it now.”