Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul’s definition of Covid-19 on a live show on a news channel triggered a trend on Twitter on Sunday.
On Sunday evening, #Zartajgul was trending on number 2 with 6,846 tweets in reaction to her definition of Covid-19 on the talk show.
Speaking on a PTV News programme with host Syed Anwar-ul-Hassan, Zartaj Gul defined Covid-19 in these words: “Covid-19 means it has 19 points and these points apply to different countries in different ways. [It’s up to that country] how it develops its immunity.”
In response to Zartaj Gul’s remarks, Twitter users stormed the social networking platform with funny comments, some criticising her for her “incompetence” and some “for her selection on the basis of her good looks”. Here are some of the tweets from her critics:
https://twitter.com/imnizamuddin99/status/1274703801509916673
https://twitter.com/sanilicious249/status/1274509881085702146
https://twitter.com/Shah_Ahmadd/status/1274682339709329411
https://twitter.com/PakviralSeries/status/1274719548529414145
https://twitter.com/ijaz_marium/status/1274717366698508288
However, some known talk show hosts and other people came forward in support of Zartaj Gul. Some defended her being a woman and some defended her remarks just as a human error. Here are some tweets from those who spoke in the state minister’s support.
https://twitter.com/MushtaqErum/status/1274719783104253952
https://twitter.com/SanaMirTweets/status/1274717311006584832