Islamabad, June 11: In another example of intolerance, a man who attempted to establish Pakistan’s first gay club in the conservative city of Abbottabad was detained in a mental hospital by local authorities.
The man had applied with the local deputy commissioner to open the club, describing it as a valuable resource and convenience for homosexual, bisexual, and even some heterosexual individuals residing in Abbottabad and other parts of Pakistan, media reports said.
The man’s application for the gay club stated that a prominent notice would be displayed, warning that no sexual activity would be permitted on the premises. This was intended to ensure that no laws, even outdated ones like Section 377 of Pakistan’s Penal Code which criminalizes same-sex relations, would be violated within the club.
The deputy commissioner’s office in Abbottabad confirmed that they had received the application for the gay club and were reviewing it like any other business proposal, without any special consideration or prejudice.
However, the news was leaked on social media, which prompted a strong backlash and outrage from residents and politicians in the conservative northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A leader of the Right-wing Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PATY) said that if permission for the club was granted, there would be “very severe consequences.”
Eventually, the man who filed for the club was transferred to the Sarhad Hospital for psychiatric disease in Peshawar on May 9.
His friends were extremely concerned for his safety and said that they had been blocked from visiting him or finding out more information.
