Politicians Attacked With Ink And Shoes Before Nawaz Sharif And Khawaja Asif

The last two days saw two consecutive attacks on PML-N leaders. In the first instance, Minister for External Affairs was made victim of an ink attack while addressing a rally of party workers in Sialkot. In the second incident, former Prime Minister and embattled PML-N chief, Nawaz Sharif had a shoe hurled at him at Jamia Naeemia in Lahore.

Pakistan's Nawaz Sharif comes under SHOE ATTACK in Lahore pic.twitter.com/jU2zjR2Rki

— Press TV (@PressTV) March 11, 2018

While such acts of physical intimidation are highly condemnable, this is not the first time that politicians have come face to face with such protesters. There is a rather prolific list of politicians attacked with ink and shoes in the past and with this “new” wave, it seems that many more names will be added to the list.

Ahmed Raza Kasuri

In 2007 at the height of the Lawyers’ Movement, former Assistant Advocate-General of Peshawar High Court, Khurshid Ahmed made national news when he sprayed (then) president General Pervez Musharraf’s counsel, Ahmed Raza Kasuri with black paint.

Read: In A Rare Show Of Solidarity, PTI Condemns Ink Attack On Khawaja Asif

According to the attacker he did so to register his displeasure with the government and its hostile attitude towards the judiciary.

Asif Ali Zardari

In 2010 the then President Asif Ali Zardari had a shoe thrown at him while addressing a gathering of Pakistanis in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The attacker narrowly missed Zardari and was immediately led away by security personnel.

The 57 year old shoe-thrower, one Sardar Mohammed Shamim Khan said that he was angry at the President for being in UK while Pakistan struggled with the worst floods in its history.

Read: 5 Highlights That Sum-up Pakistan’s Senate Elections 2018

Interestingly, the video footage of the shoe attack seems to have been removed from virtually every source on the internet. We did however find the interview of the aged attacker explaining his motivation behind the shoe attack.

Khurshid Kasuri

In 2015 while in India for the launch of his book, Khurshid Kasuri was in for a rude shock. Although not directly attacked himself, Kasuri’s book launch organizer, Sudheendra Kulkarni was attacked with black paint as an act of intimidation by the activists of far-right Hindu nationalist party, Shiv Sena.

Kulkarni, who reached the venue smeared in black paint termed the incident as an, “attack on democracy.”

Pakistani politicians are not the only ones who have been at the receiving end of ink and shoe attacks.

Prince Charles

On the last leg of his Baltic tour in 2001, Prince Charles was welcomed in Latavia with a rose slapped on his face by a 16 year old school girl.

Read: Syrian Conflict: Does The World Really Care?

Alina Lebedeva, the attacker said that she was protesting UK’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan.

George W. Bush

Former US President George W. Bush had shoes hurled at him by an Iraqi journalist, Muntadhar al-Zaidi, during a press conference at the Prime Minister’s palace in Baghdad in 2008.

“This is a a farewell gift from the people of Iraq! This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq!” Al-Zaidi had yelled in Arabic while throwing the shoes.