he is now "vulnerable" and "anything could happen"
A Pakistani man who tried to set up the country’s first gay club has been detained in a mental hospital by local authorities.
The man had filed an application to set up the club in Abbottabad.
In the application, the man said the club was to be a “great convenience and resource for many homosexual, bisexual and even some heterosexual people residing in Abbottabad in particular, and in other parts of the country in general”.
According to the application, “the envisaged gay club, tentatively to be called Lorenzo gay club, there would be no gay (or non-gay) sex (other than kissing)”.
“A clearly visible notice on the wall would warn: no sex on premises.
“This would mean that no legal constraints (even obsolete ones like [anti-sodomy] PPC section 377) would be flouted on the premises.”
Abbottabad’s DC office had received the application and was reviewing it like any other proposal.
However, the application was leaked on social media, sparking outrage from locals and politicians in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Naseer Khan Nazir, a leader of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), said that if permission for the club was granted, there would be “very severe consequences”.
Another MP from the party said he would douse the building with petrol and set it on fire.
Meanwhile, the leader of the conservative Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI) party, claimed the man had recently returned from the UK.
It is reported that the man was transferred to the Sarhad Hospital for psychiatric disease in Peshawar on May 9, 2024.
Friends said they were concerned for his safety and that they had been blocked from visiting the man or finding out more information.
One said: “Everyone is afraid that talking about it will put them in danger.
“I do not know about his well-being for many days.”
The friend added that they had “tried to find out about him a couple of times but without success”.
The friend said the applicant’s sexuality was common knowledge in Abbottabad and he never faced issues in the community.
However, he is now “vulnerable” and “anything could happen to him at any time”.
Before being sent to the mental hospital, the man told The Telegraph:
“I talk about human rights and I want everyone’s human rights to be defended.”
He said he would ask officials for a written reply on why they had rejected his petition, should it prove unsuccessful.
The man added: “I have started the struggle for the rights of the most neglected community in Pakistan and I will raise my voice in every forum.
“If the authorities refuse, then I will approach the court and I hope that like the Indian court, the Pakistani court will rule in favour of gay people.”
Religious parties have accused the applicant of working on behalf of a foreign state and called for Abbottabad’s DC to be dismissed for considering the application.
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