A Pakistani-born stand-up comedian has been has been questioned by the British police over accusations that he used the word ‘Paki’ during a show. The police acted after a fellow Pakistani took offence at Jeff Mirza’s show Meet Abu – Hamsta and Paki Bashir. According to the Daily Star, Mirza, 49, was quizzed at a police station in Edinburgh where, dressed as butcher “Paki Bashir”, he has been wowing festival crowds with his one-liners. The complaint claimed he was upset by a poster for the show, which attempts to “reclaim” the use of the racially offensive term. He was warned that he could be arrested and charged if he continued to use the poster, although he is continuing to do so, the report said. Mirza said that he could not be accused of racism against his own community? According to the report, his act centres on jokes about Pakistan and the wider Islamic world. His main character, Bashir, tells the audience he loves his family, and says of Pakistan: “We also have a thriving gay community and they are also known as clerics.”
