Mixed reaction as Imran’s dogs get official Wikipedia page
Editor faces the heat as opposition parties and supporters of PTI leader mount online attack
Pakistan’s prime ministerin-waiting Imran Khan has a special love for dogs and his pets are occasionally seen making an entry in the drawing room during interviews by journalists. Now Khan’s election win has made his pets so famous that they now have an official Wikipedia page titled ‘Pets of Imran Khan’.
The Wikipedia page was added on August 6, days after Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) secured majority in general elections held on July 25.
Imran Khan has owned five dogs namely Sheru (lion), Motu (fat), Sherni (lioness), Pidu and Maximus, according to Wikipedia. The page says a typical day in Khan’s routine begins with breakfast, “walking the dogs and gathering his thoughts”, followed by morning exercise.
Saqib Qayyum, Wikipedia’s Pakistan editor, told Gulf News that “there had been a lot of buzz lately about Imran Khan’s dogs but people do not know much about them” so the page was created based on the plentiful references in newspapers and social media.
Although some Pakistanis have criticised the page, terming it “unnecessary”, Wikipedia justifies the attention to the pets by comparing it to the pages of the “US presidential pets” as well as “Pets of Vladimir Putin”.
The news of the Wikipedia page on Khan’s pets spread swiftly and made headlines in Pakistani media. However, it also filled up Wikipedia editor’s inbox with a number of hate emails.
Qayyum said: “The supporters of opposition party PML-N thought I was paid by PTI to create this page to showcase a soft image of Khan.”
Surprisingly, Qayyum was also criticised by Khan’s fans who took him as a PML-N troll since he also highlighted some unpleasant incidents such as the argument between Khan and his wives because of dogs.