Pakistan minister resigns over 'immoral' hug

Pakistan’s woman tourism minister tendered her resignation today after hardline Islamic clerics accused her of obscenity for hugging her instructor after a charity parachute jump.

Nilofar Bakhtiar, the Federal Minister for Tourism, was pictured wearing a brightly coloured jumpsuit and hugging her instructor after a tandem jump to raise money for child victims of the earthquake that struck Pakistan in October 2005.

The images provoked the wrath of clerics in Islamabad, who accused Ms Bakhtiar of posing in an obscene manner and violating the Islamic moral norms.

A religious court set up by the clerics at a radical mosque in Islamabad issued a fatwa, or religious edict, against Ms Bakhtiar when the photographs first appeared in local newspapers last month.
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They urged the Government to punish her and fire her from the Cabinet. Ms Bakhtiar failed to win the support of Cabinet colleagues and the Government appeared to cave in to the demands of the militants.

As she announced her intention to resign today, Ms Bakhtiar complained of a campaign of intimidation against her.

Earlier this month she was sacked as head of the womens’ wing of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League.

Ms Bakhtiar dismissed the fatwa against her, saying it had no legal, religious or moral authority. She said that the photographs showed her being congratulated for making the jump at a charity event in France and that the allegations of immoral behaviour were baseless. She said she had no regrets and would do it again happily if it helped the people of Pakistan.

Her resignation was the latest blow to women politicians in Pakistan. Less than two months ago a Punjab provincial minister was shot dead by an Islamic cleric in the eastern city of Gujranwala because she was not wearing a veil.

Ms Bakhtiar told a Senate Standing Committee that her life was under threat. Human rights and political activists and many other Pakistanis had condemned the campaign against her and expressed support for the minister.

But the Government did not take any action against the clerics, who are campaigning for the establishment of a Taleban-style conservative Islamic rule in the capital, and instead urged her to resign. The clerics have already set up a parallel justice system and openly promote vigilantes in the city.

In a newspaper interview published today Ms Bakhtiar said she was disappointed by her Cabinet colleagues who had failed to stand by her, and that she was hurt by the way her parachute jump had been sensationalised.

The chief cleric of Lal Mosque in Islamabad, Maulana Abdul Aziz, is leading the campaign to establish a hardline sharia regime with his brother, Abdur Rashid Ghazi. The brothers have made headlines in recent months for openly challenging the Government and for encouraging religious vigilantes to patrol the streets of the capital.

The mosque’s baton-wielding devotees have set up so-called morality patrols telling local shops not to sell “un-Islamic” music and movies. Followers have become a common sight at traffic lights where they warn women to stop driving as it is a “sin” against Islam.

Shrouded from head to toe in black burqas, women students of a seminary known as Madrassa Hafza attached to the mosque regularly raid houses which they claim are being used as brothels

wow.................obscene?



Anyone care to explain that?

wot has pakistan become!! i never ever hate anyone but these guys test me a lot

I dont think the instructor was paid enough to hug that whale. May be he is suing the Pakistani government and hence the resignation.

Ridiculous.

Pakistan is full of contradictions - our 'entertainers' regular kiss/hug/hoold hands etc - and it is lapped up by the masses.

Then there is uproar when this minister does it!

A bit like that Shilpa Shetty thing with Richard Gere - she did what she does day in day out to make mnoney, and she is taken top court for it.

Not sure why the minister felt the need to hug the instructor

it's a natural reaction she was probably feeling elated after completing a parachute jump, most probaby conquered her fear, the adrenaline was rushing & she innocently hugs her instructor.

this is wrong. she didnt resogn coz of that hug. she resigned in protest coz she lost control of PML's women wing to SUmaira Malik. i read it in THE NEWS a few days. back. the hug has nothgin to do with it

hugg??looks like a kiss...

it seems ben kinglsey's career has taken a sideways move since sexy beast

lol

seriously, its not just pakistani/indian - its also arab/persian world too.

This is ridiculous! She goes out and raises money for the needy and returns to find a Fatwaa being issued against her for going against Islam! These Islamic clerics need to step back a minute and view in which context the picture was taken. This is not a picture taken secretly of a Muslim woman having some sort of affair, but a picture of a woman doing nothing more than hugging to thank and celebrate her achievements for charity.

And this comment about women shouldn't drive, well I agree but my justification is that they are purely bad drivers, not because it’s apparently against Islam!

On a side note, her instructor looks very similar to the missing BBC correspondent Allan Johnston.

He also looks like Richard O'Brien from the Crystal Maze

u extremely ruthless !

my foot, total nonsense. who says that a woman driving a car is against islam. if this is against islam, then shouldnt women stay indoors and not come out where men can't see them. hence wat the students doing is also against islam. i wish a women driving a car drives over the students and kills them. they r totally disgraceful.

fickle minded nonsense!
Absolutely ZERO freedom for people who actually want to work for the betterment of the society, i suppose it all comes down to lack of education.

Wow, looking at the reaction of people here, it seems to me that Pakistan is ruled by Taliban. Typical depiction, "woman" minister resigned because of an "innocent" hug despite the fact she raised money for poor children. Touch of "fatwa" and "religious zealots", "madrassa students" forbidding women from driving cars. Classic piece of western journalism portraying Pakistan.

First of all, Lal masjid, and madrassa Hafsa has brought a bad name to Islam and madrassa students by their actions. These people have been disowned by the association of madrassas in Pakistan and publicly reprimended by Ulemas of all sects. Clearly, one madrassa does not have the power to implement their own "law and rules". And if they do such things by themselves, they are breaking the law and creating anarchy in the society. Being aware of the opinions of the people on the right and left in Pakistan, I know for a fact that majority of the people in Pakistan does not like what they are doing, whether it is music, movies or women driving cars. Nothing of this is considered against Islam by majority of Pakistani people. Now people are entitled to hold their opinion and practice their beliefs and that is what you see in Pakistan. You will see in liberty [market], lahore head to toe burqa clad women as well as women wearing half sleeve shirts and jeans.

A person can do anything in his/her personal life but when you are a woman minister in Islamic Republic of Pakistan, you cannot just hug around the people and have your pictures in all the papers, that is clearly against the norms of Pakistani society, whether you admit or not. Now, money can be raised much more and by various means and ways, moral or immoral. So, there is no point in arguing that she was raising the money for poor children thats why she is entitled to hug a man. Would she do "anything" to raise money if somebody offers her millions of $$. Clearly, she did a wrong thing as a minister. She deserved to be fired instead she was given the opportunity to resign. Public officials are expected to held upto high standards, even above the standards of people they rule.

This woman minister did a wrong thing and thats what most of the people in Pakistan think. For people living in West, it may seem an innocous hug and some "roshan khiyals" in Pakistan also thought it was nothing. But clearly it is something to the people.

Finally, now when she has resigned from the post of minister in Pakistan, she can go around and can do anything she wants, sky diving, swimming, scuba diving, pole valuting, gymnastics. I would love to see her pictures although it may not be aesthetical.

She did not resign because of the hug. She resigned because she lost control of PML's women wing to Sumaira Malik as Waqar said before me. This is just a political ploy to get some support for herself.

Actually, her party leaders were not happy with her hugging pictures. They removed her from party post and then she resigned. I agree with you it is a polictical ploy on her part but the main reason is the "hug".

Well, Usman would you mind seeing your sister hugging a stranger?
I ma sure ou won't like that.
It's not our culture, she has to understand where she is coming from.
Handshake could have ben enough.

Wazeeri can explain that for sure, he thinks it's all propaganda against mullahs and hardliners.

This is BS.

She did NOT resign because of the fallout of her (immoral) hug.

She resigned because she lost the PML Women's Wing leadership to Sumera Malik.

The media will use anything they can to malign Islam. Ill-informed/Naive people will fall for it.

I had a feeling this topic was missing something..and Shahzad comes along to perform the final ritual on this topic.

and to answer Shahzad on Usman's behalf..I don't think he would have a problem with your sister hugging a stranger.

and if shahzad is that stranger

Why would Shahzad Hug his own sister..pretending to be a stranger?

Did they pour acid over her?
Did they burn her house down?

No they registered their protest at something they thought was obscene.
And as far as our culture goes it is obscene, forget what the amricee wannabes do, would your mum or sister hug a man like that?

The only criticsm of the mullahs I think is justified is that they should be concentrating on bigger issues, even though i doubt this was on top of their agenda or that they thought about it all the time. Like I said in the other thread, doesn't matter how much good the mullahs do, one slight misdirection and we have a thread.

anyway just to highlight the fact that the mullahs didn't force her to resign, it was the roshan khyaal Chaudary Brigade. I think all politicians would be hoping that they have some fatwa issued against them to use in tough times.

We've got to move on from these sort of scandal-lite political decoys. The incident is certainly something that we can discuss and debate, however our political attentions really are demanded and required elsewhere.

Once again, agreed Wazeeri

agreed with wazeeri bhai again...man when is Mushy gonna hug some foreign journalist or something....cmon general sahib we need an example for all the roshan khayals!!

He should hug a toaster


in his swimming pool

He wasn't a stranger.....he was a friend.

Hash

Is it acceptable for male and female friends to hug in our culture?
I would go as far as saying that having mixed sex friends isn't accepted in most parts of pakistan.

I do accept though that falling from the sky gets you excited and had she thought about it she wouldn't have done it. A small thing being turned into a big issue but like many have pointed out, her resignation has nothing what so ever to do with the hug.

Does that mean it is right though?

As you said, her andrenaline would have been rushing, she felt emotional and she hugged her instructor. The problem is when people start to interpret any sort of male-female interaction in a sexual way. That is why we are humans and not animals..............males and females can easily interact in a non sexual way without sex ever being on the agenda. A hug is not sexual, it is emotional.

This should never have been made into an issue.

I have no idea about her record as a minister though.

Things like this and lal masjid get made into an issue for some reasons.

First of all her resignation has nothing to do with the (in)famous hug. Those who have never felt the adrenaline rush in their life can never understand the state of a mind of a person after having an overdose of this chemical. Brain commands adrenal glands to generate adrenaline to counter pain and danger in extreme situations. All its forces are concentrated on one thing, to prepare the body against pain. It doesn't do its main job in these situation i-e, thinking, properly while it is pumping this chemical. You do silly things in such situations. I learned this during my motorcycling years. This is no defense for the minister's family. My only defense is: I personally know the family and they are very decent folks. But then Pakistan is becoming more and more unsuitable for decent folks.

No, no. More like this:

Sure it wasn't this?

I wasn't talking about Nilofar and her hugs, go back to my post and read what i was quoting, you will know what i was talking about but i will paste that again:

Followers have become a common sight at traffic lights where they warn women to stop driving as it is a “sin” against Islam.

Harrassing women driving on the road, would you deny that it happened and how would you react if your mother or sister are harrassed by the MULLAHS like this???

Why do you say Mullahs as if they are all one group of people with the same ideas and thoughts?

Its not obscene because she didn't wake up in the morning and think, hmm what shall i do today?
..............oh yeah I'll hug a guy and do my country proud.............

If it was obscene, her/his intentions wouldn't have been innocent. Btw I don't think it's ok to hug a hug a guy thats not your brother etc but I think this defamation of her character is a little harsh. She might be a minister but she's human as well, she is going to make mistakes.

I sincerely doubt that she (and most other pakistani women) would hug guys in normal situations, but as joseh has explained above, this wasn't a regular situation.

Sam1eh

The women shouldn't be making political mileage from the incident if she is so decent.

What do you mean by political mileage, I'm a bit hazy when it comes to pakistan politics.

All i see is a women who got caught up in a moment, hugged the wrong person (who happened to be a guy) and felt she had to resign.

According to someone who knows the family, she is decent.

Sam1eh

The woman hugged a man
Some religious parties and mullahs made some noise
ISSUE DIES

Woman comes out and gives interview on dead situation.
Woman tries to get as much international press as possible

Woman loses election
Woman encourages rumours that it was because of the hug and the consequences of it that she resigned, rather than being a sore loser.

It isn't her Hugging that is the problem for me, but the fact that she made more noise over it than the "Mullahs"

Oh i see, what a shameless person she is. First she hugged an unknown person to bring shame to her country and then she makes more noise than Mullahs for some cheap publicity.....................RIGHT!!! She should be stoned to death and someone should issue a Fatwa against her as soon as possible.

That doesn't even warrant a response.

The first sensible reply. I still don't see what the fuss is all about? Obiviously it wasn't meant in a sexual way. Typical of 'some' people to create something out of nothing.

I don't need your reply, you have your own views and i have mine, just read the following and decide if she really deserved what she got, not saying she should go and start hugging every stranger on the street but reaction from honourable mullahs is something i do NOT agree with.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6681645.stm


Pakistan fatwa minister 'to quit'

Nilofar Bakhtiar was pictured after a paragliding flight
Pakistan's Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar has submitted her resignation after strong criticism from hardline Islamist clerics.
Last month, a fatwa was issued against her after she was pictured hugging a man following a paragliding flight.

The clerics described Ms Bakhtiar's behaviour as obscene. She said the photo was misleading.

The tourism minister made the jump in France in March to raise money for victims of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake.

'Noble cause'

Shortly afterwards newspapers published photographs showing her hugging her elderly instructor.

I have taken the decision due to unavoidable circumstances

Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar


Does fatwa promote bigotry?

Hardline clerics at the radical Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) Islamabad issued a religious edict condemning her behaviour, saying it violated Islamic morality.

At the time she vowed not to be intimidated but officials have confirmed reports that she has now handed in her resignation.

"Despite my exceptional commitment to the cause of tourism in Pakistan, I have taken the decision due to unavoidable circumstances," she said in a letter faxed to newspapers.


The madrassa administration is accused of being 'extremist'

"French media praised my daring attempt but unfortunately some irresponsible elements in Pakistan presented this noble cause in a malicious manner," she told the Dawn newspaper.

She was quoted as saying she had been hurt by the way the issue was sensationalised and that her parachute jump had been for a noble cause.

Earlier she had shrugged off the clerical criticism, saying she would do another jump for a good cause.

"We don't need to be intimidated by these people," she told Reuters Television in April.

"I have no regrets... I would do it again happily if it helps the people of Pakistan."

'Extremism'

It is not clear if the prime minister will accept Ms Bakhtiar's offer to resign.

But the BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad say the incident highlights a growing climate of extremism in Pakistan.

In February a female provincial minister was shot dead by a man who, police said, did not think women should be in politics.

The clerics who denounced the tourism minister have set up their own vigilante anti-vice squads in the capital.

Personally I didn't think she was that bad considering her age - I'm surprised that mutazazulla.. tahir hasn't leapt to her defence (he's the one who likes Aunties isn't he).

We had a thread on that incident. The guy was a psycho who was released by the police despite confessing to a murder.



There was an interview with this very cleric on ARY just a few days ago and he denounced kiling civilians on it. He doesn't seem very level headed but a lot of what we have heard off him is plain sensationalist propoganda.

President of Iran kissed his school teacher's hand the other day, she is like 80. He was criticized for being immoral.

On the other hand, she is the minister of Pakistan and she must respect the fact that she is an islamic woman no matter if its a sexual hug or a normal hug, shake the guy's hand with grace like it should be. Is there a need to hug?

On the other hand, these mullahs love to talk about such petty things and are not willing to deal with the big matters such as setting up a welfare islamic system?

It's the liberal extremists vs the conservative extremists. Moderates are sleeping. God help us.

shake the guy's hand with grace like it should be. u think this is allowed in islam and hugging is not?

so unless mullas bring welfare system they have no right to talk about hugs?

Hugging is a whole lot different than shaking hands.

no offense but ive taken it from ur sentense.

imo islam is not a religion anymore. its wot ppl say for others. A religion demotes egos.

You are implying that shaking hands is not allowed. A hug I can understand and agree why it must be avoided. Where on earth did you get that and where in Allah's book does it say that shaking hands is not allowed in Islam? And how is a hand shake obscene?

Islam was never a religion and never will be. Islam is a way of life, its' the true deen from the day the first heavenly message came down.

ok ok! take it easy. u can do wot ever u want. who am i to question u . i just mentioned ur satement and asked a question based on that.

I said that she should not have hugged, she should have shaken his hand at the most.

ok. she has done that n now she is not minister. she was a political leader of a muslim country where it is not accepted for ministers to do that so fair enough.

There is this bearded guy who goes by the name of Edhi.
The only forces in Kashmir other than the army after the earthquake were the Edhi foundation and Jamiat.

Wazeeri yaar that guy, he is phenominal Muslim who has done a lot for Pakistan. Pakistan needs more people like him!

Let the world take note
Zechariah wants more Mullahs in Pakistan

That didnt sound very pleasing to my ears at first.

Yes i do want more Mullahs in Pakistan - Intelligent Mullahs that is, like yourself, not like the jokers who give fatwas on hugs.

The lady should go and hug all the irate mullahs. Win them over with an flabby, adrenaline driven charm offensive.

Mullahs just want affection. No one loves them. So they've every right to ask why the bald eagle in the pics is getting some (very limited) action , when all they get is some halwa and dry naan - that too on a good day.

It just ain't right.

BB