New Delhi: The latest person in Pakistan to be distressed by the country’s internet woes is Pakistan People’s Party leader Bilawal Bhutto and he’s approached the issue of censorship with humour, asking “Why do the fish in our oceans seem to eat only the internet cables of Pakistan?”
However, some Pakistanis are calling out his hypocrisy, reminding him his party is part of the government.
X user @ThePatriot called out Bhutto’s hypocrisy.
“This is what we call “Noora Khusti” in Pakistan. @BBhuttoZardari wants to enjoy the benefits of being part of the coalition while getting PPP’s cases cleared, yet he occasionally takes jabs at the government. The people of Pakistan are no longer fooled by these tactics,” he wrote.
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Of water, fish & corruption
Bhutto was referring to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s recent notification on the malfunction of undersea cables, which affected Pakistan’s internet services.
Why fishes of sea only eats cables of Pakistan’s internet- Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
Machliyan sirf Pakistani internet ke cable kiyun khati hain
🤣🤣🤣@BBhuttoZardari
— Dr Shama Junejo (@ShamaJunejo) December 28, 2024
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology on Wednesday delayed the Digital Nation Pakistan Bill, criticising the slow progress in improving internet speeds.
Addressing these concerns, in a viral video, Bhutto can be seen asking, “Aap mujhe batayein Pakistan ke internet cables mein aisa kya hai ki humaare samundar ki machliyan woh sirf Pakistan ke internet cables khaati rehti hain? (What is it about Pakistani cables that fish in our sea only seem to attack them?)
Many Pakistanis used the occasion to allege corruption on the part of the Bhuttos.
Saad Ahmed Nisar had a response to his question on Instagram: “Jaise tum pakistan ko kha gy or tumhry walid ne logo ki zindagi barbad kardi (Just like you ate up Pakistan and your father destroyed the lives of people).”
Ayesha Naeem took the liberty of asking ‘Billu’ to go and ask this question to Army Chief General Asim Munir.
Many even sarcastically labelled him ‘papa ki pari’, a derogatory term used to describe rich, entitled people.
Rabia Khan suggested on Instagram: “Papa ke pari apny papa say pocho (Why don’t you go and ask your father?)”
While Pakistanis found his comments funny, there was something funnier than his speech—his accent. It reminded Pakistanis of the aunts who like to create controversies.
“Mery aik phophoooo bilkul aise he baat krty.. Lagtaaaa larddddd rhy (I have an aunt who talks exactly like this.. Looks like they’re fighting),” Alisa wrote in a comment.
However, Pakistanis were concerned too. Not about the internet, but about Bilawal’s weight loss—“Is he on Ozempic,” was the dominant question.
Muhlik Khan posted: “Billo Rani Ozempic treatment kay baad.”
And then there were other priorities.
On Instagram, Shanzeh Zaman thought this was an opportune moment to remind the internet of Bilawal’s previous remarks—etched in the hall of fame of viral memes.
“Ab zyada machli ata hai to zyada cable kata hai”—a veiled reference to the PPP member’s comment on Karachi floods, “Jab baarish aata hai tab paani aata hai,” he wrote.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)