Zardari gets the shoe

The exclusive club of world leaders with shoe-dodging experience grew a little bigger last weekend, as Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was interrupted mid-speech on Saturday by a 60-year-old’s footwear: Mr Zardari, who is under criticism for visiting Britain while Pakistan is suffering from devastating floods, was in the middle of a speech when an ...

LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images
LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images
LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images

The exclusive club of world leaders with shoe-dodging experience grew a little bigger last weekend, as Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was interrupted mid-speech on Saturday by a 60-year-old's footwear:

The exclusive club of world leaders with shoe-dodging experience grew a little bigger last weekend, as Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was interrupted mid-speech on Saturday by a 60-year-old’s footwear:

Mr Zardari, who is under criticism for visiting Britain while Pakistan is suffering from devastating floods, was in the middle of a speech when an elderly man in the 1,000 strong crowd hurled both shoes at him. The gesture is considered a traditional insult in Islam. An unidentified man was later ejected by police and security officials from the meeting, which was marked by noisy protests outside.  

Wish you could have been there but weren’t? Play the online game that reenacts the incident.

Brian Fung is an editorial researcher at FP.

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