Published 18:47 IST, January 23rd 2021
Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s lookalike spotted in auto, netizens say 'uncanny resemblance'
Pakistani users commented that the said man wasn’t a lookalike but the Pakistani PM himself who was now cash stripped and had no luxury motorcades to hop in.
A series of trolls targeting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan started after social media users spotted his lookalike hitching a ride in an autorickshaw in the country’s Sialkot. In the now-viral 19 second footage, shared by one user Abdullah Qamar out of his Twitter handle, Khan’s doppelgänger was seen clad in charcoal black Kurta Pajama sightseeing along the way as the auto motor was heading for an unidentified destination. The clip stirred humour across the social media as Pakistani internet swarmed to drop comical reactions, saying that their leader had perhaps camouflaged as an ordinary civilian to inspect the situation around the nation as it battled the coronavirus pandemic.
Many others cracked jokes, that the said man wasn’t a lookalike but the Pakistani PM himself who was now cash stripped and had no luxury motorcades to hop in. Others, offering a different perspective believed that their PM had set off on a treasure hunt for one ‘Khawaja Asif’s’ gold in a holistic journey to, what they described as, "Baba Jee's Sialkot". Some, owing to the colour of his attire, asserted that the leader was “on a secret mission”, without divulging any further details. “Uncanny resemblance", a Pakistani Twitter user commented. One other retorted, that their PM was on his way to inspect the country’s inflation as the ongoing coronavirus batters businesses and tanks the nation’s economy even as the South Asian country introduced three interest rate cuts.
Internet drops jokes
Sialkot, a city in Punjab in Pakistan, is renowned for musical instruments and foreign exchange earnings for Pakistan. The internet wrapped jokes around the economic fallout in the country and Khan’s intentions of retiring into the city. “Make him the PM of Pak,” one said, adding that one wouldn’t know if the lookalike “may just do a better job than the Original. Bajwa Sahib will have to be taken on board.” The commenter roped in the country’s General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Pakistan’s Chief of the Army Staff to be employed in the political cabinet of the doppelganger. “The Khan’s double,” another agreed, with a slew of laughter emoticons. Since shared, the footage amassed close to 12,000 views, and an onslaught of reactions from Pakistani Twitter.
Updated 18:47 IST, January 23rd 2021