The news of Zulfi’s arrest went viral recently. And Pakistan’s reaction was a mix of frustation and approval. However, the news has been debugged.
The Islamabad Additional SP of Operations, Farhat kazmi clarified that Zulfi had been granted bail by Lahore court and was advised to co-operate with the police. He had visited Islamabad police to assist them in the investigation, where the picture was taken for police records. Which lead people to misconstrue that he was arrested.
Zulfi’s unconventional photoshoot in front of Quaid-e-Azam’s portrait on islamabad Expressway spread like wildfire on the internet. Along with the portrait, the hillock also bears the famous quotes of the father of the nation: “Unity, Faith and Discipline” written in metallic letters both in English and Urdu. Many bashed him for the “obscene” photoshoot and called for action against him.
An FIR was lodged against the youth under Section 294 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which relates to obscenity.
You know the state has failed when it starts imprisoning kids who wear different kind of clothes….. while rapists are gifted bails ? #freezulfi pic.twitter.com/7IErqjV8Xn
— zaakra ?️⚧️ (@zakrieyaa) August 24, 2021
As the fake news circulated online, things got heated. Celebrities such as Fatima Bhutto and Meesha Shafi also expressed their outrage at the turn of events.
“Shame on the police, arresting this young man for what? For a photo where he dressed up? No one was hurt. He harmed no one. On Aug 14, 400 men attacked a woman and filmed themselves terrorising her. They filmed themselves because they knew it’s no crime to attack a girl,” Bhutto wrote on Twitter.
While news of Zulfi’s arrest may have been exaggerated, people are still discussing and questioning the state and society’s attitudes towards individuals exercising their right to express themselves.
Zulfi’s case really settles the fact that the only kind of ‘policing’ this State & government are interested in is moral policing.
— Maria Amir (@Beentherella) August 24, 2021
Actual crimes like harassment, rape and murder are subject to whether the story goes viral enough to force action.#Priorities#freezulfi
