As 27-year-old Arshad Nadeem put Pakistan's name on the 2024 Olympic medal list, clinching gold in javelin throw, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was quick to congratulate the athlete on X for his historic performance. However, along with the tweet, Sharif posted an old image of him giving a cheque of Rs 1 million to Nadeem, sparking fierce criticism and triggering an avalance of memes on social media.
Adding fuel to the fire is a video of a Pakistani politician, Rana Mashood, crediting Shehbaz Sharif for giving Nadeem the opportunity to participate in the Paris Olympics. The video shows Mashood and Sharif celebrating as Nadeem clinched his first Olympic gold medal with a record-breaking 92.97 m throw on Thursday night.
With the feat, Nadeem also became the first Pakistani to clinch an individual Olympic gold medal as India's "golden boy" Neeraj Chopra settled for silver. Chopra, who clinched gold in the Tokyo Olympics, came second with the season's best effort of 89.45 m.
Even though his travel to Paris was sponsored by the government, his appeal for a new javelin just months before the Olympics garnered widespread attention on social media and was even amplified by Neeraj Chopra.
In March, Nadeem, speaking to the media, urged the Pakistani authorities to replace his old javelin as it was no longer suitable for high-level competition. Nadeem said he had been using the same javelin for 7–8 years.
Nadeem apparently didn't receive any financial support for his travel from the government for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. For other international tournaments, his friends and neighbours had reportedly contributed towards his expenses.
Shehbaz Sharif received immense flak on X for his post for Nadeem. "Just look at their mentality! Why on earth would you upload a picture giving him a check of Rs 1 million? Classless and clueless," one user tweeted.
Another user called it an insult to Arshad and to the nation. "Shame on you for showing the world that you once gave him a million rupees for his outstanding achievement in which the govt had no contribution whatsoever," he said.
"What shamefulness. Everyone knows the struggle of Arshad and even his house right now gives it away," a third commented.
Another user requested the Prime Minister to remove the image. "Mr Prime Minister, atleast congratulate gracefully... What this boy has done is priceless. Recommend him for Nishane Imtiaz," he tweeted.
