NAROWAL: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal on Sunday said the family involved in the Bhera incident came to Narowal and apologised for their action in the meeting, expressed remorse and embarrassment.

“I had already announced not to take legal action against them. We are all Pakistanis. The right to disagree with each other should not be turned into hatred and mutual respect should be maintained,” he said.

Earlier, Ahsan Iqbal had said that he would not seek criminal charges against the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) supporters who heckled him at a restaurant, as women and children were part of the group. “Imran Khan has poisoned minds of his followers from Hitler’s playbook. Intolerance is much bigger threat than any other threat,” he said.

Read more: Imran Khan’s politics based on promoting hate, extremism: Ahsan

On July 9, the planning and development minister had said it was the need of the hour to end extremism, intolerance and hate from politics and society. Addressing a press conference here, he had said the incident happened to him was a reflection of the training of PTI supporters imparted by Imran Khan.

“I am directly victim to hate when a youth had opened fire at me few years ago and the bullet is still in my body,” he had said.

“I always think to eradicate hate from the society as the seed of hate cannot be easily weeded out from the society,” he had said and added intolerance and hate should be countered right now, otherwise, it would create anarchy.

A video of the family members’ misbehavior with Ahsan Iqbal had gone viral on social media. The family members were seen chanting “thief, thief” on the minister’s face at McDonald’s restaurant in Bhera.