Islamabad: A few days ago, Pakistan’s ministers went viral on social media for Facebook live streaming a meeting, after having forgotten to turn off the cat filter. Now, a minister has gone viral for much darker reasons- attacking a journalist during a live debate.

Masroor Ali Siyal of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party attacked his fellow panellist, journalist and president of the Karachi Press Club Imtiaz Khan Faran during a live telecast of a debate on Monday, June 24 night.

The two first got into a verbal argument, as seen in the video, after which the minister got out of his seat and attacked the journalist. The minister is seen shoving the journalist down to the down and then proceeding to punch and slap him. The other guests, visibly shocked by the incident, managed to pull the two apart with the help of the crew members.

While any normal debate would have ceased at the moment, this fiasco of a debate continued as the minister and the journalist took their seats minutes later.

The video of the assault drew the ire of the public who called the minister’s behaviour “disrespectful” and a “disgrace”. Others called it “toxic behaviour” and suggested that the minister undergo anger management therapy.