Naqvi comes to CDA chairman, Islamabad IG's defence as carriage video draws flak

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi defended two government officials, CDA Chairman Sohail Ashraf and IGP Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, on Saturday after a video of them riding in a horse carriage during a parade for Pakistan's Independence Day went viral on social media. The officials appeared in the video, but there were no audible applause from the crowd.

Naqvi clarified on X that the officials were delayed due to a president's meeting with the prime minister, and they instructed the officers to start the program because they did not want the public to wait any longer. Despite Naqvi's defense, the video continued to draw criticism. Former federal minister Shireen Mazari shared a post criticizing the officials' actions as "colonial" and a form of self-humiliation.

Digital rights activist Usama Khilji called the officials' behavior "unbelievably stupid," while journalist Farzana Ali questioned whether such scenes represented the country where people face daily hardships. Journalist Zarrar Khuhro described the video as "cringe," and researcher Ammar Rashid expressed contempt for the "unelected babus ruining our cities."

Anti-people DC Raj needed to go, according to Rashid. Journalist and former chairman of Pemra Absar Alam also reacted to the video, calling it revolting to witness the "inferiority complex of brown sahibs of bureaucracy."