Mustafa Chaudhary slammed for making derogatory remarks against Aleema Khan during KLF

The 15th Karachi Literature Festival (KLF), held from Feb 16 to Feb 18 at the Beach Luxury Hotel, was marred by controversy when panelists of one of the sessions made derogatory remarks about Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan's sister, Aleema Khan.

Renowned standup comedians and satirists Shehzad Ghias Shaikh, Mustafa Chaudhary, and Murtaza Chaudhary were invited as panelists for the session titled "Framing Reality As Comedy," moderated by senior journalist Nadeem Farooq Paracha.

During the session, Mustafa Chaudhary made offensive remarks about Aleema Khan, drawing criticism from netizens.

Referring to the unique electoral symbol of PTI-backed independent candidates in the February 8 elections, Chaudhary said: "[...] I must say the unjust has done with them that their electoral symbol was stripped off and in return they [ECP] allotted them Aleema Baji's dowry (spoon, plate, brinjal, earrings)."

The moderator, while laughing at Mustafa's remarks, said "despite unique symbols, PTI voters turned to polling stations, found the marks and voted for Imran"

In response, the 'Fraud Cast' host referred to Aleema Khan's claims of amassing assets through sewing clothes, saying, "The entire electoral symbols were sewn by Aleema Baji's sewing machine."

The derogatory remarks sparked outrage among netizens, who took to microblogging platforms, demanding that the KLF management refrain from inviting guests who cross the boundaries of decorum at the event.

Here's how netizens reacted: