New Delhi: Pakistani director Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar is synonymous with misogyny in the country. So, when he got robbed and abducted by a female gang of robbers, Pakistanis called it ‘poetic justice’. They expressed concerns — not for Rahman, but for his kidnappers.
“Hatred towards Khalil-ur-Rehman aside, I feel sorry for the kidnappers and salute their bravery to tolerate him in the same room,” an X user wrote.
Rehman received a call close to midnight on 15 July from an unknown number, where a person claiming to be Amna Urooj, a fan of his writing, expressed interest in collaborating on a TV drama, Dawn reported.
Upon arriving at the meeting place around 4:40 am, Rehman was escorted into a house where he was robbed of PKR 60,000, an iPhone 11, a Bank Al-Habib ATM card, and his national identity card.
The kidnappers reportedly also threatened to kill him, demanding a ransom of PKR 10,000,000, which Rehman said he couldn’t pay.
He was later handed over to a different group that took him to an undisclosed location. There he called a friend for PKR 1,000,000 ransom. The friend declined, leading to Rehman being assaulted and abandoned in a deserted area.
Now, the director is being asked what he was wearing at the time of the assault.
“Surely he must’ve not dressed up properly, also who goes out to visit a ‘na mehram’ female at midnight!!!,” an X user asked sarcastically.
Qamar is infamous in Pakistan for his sexism and rampant display of misogyny and has often come under fire. In his most recent comment, he called women ‘illiterate’ and ‘ignorant’. The director has been called out by celebs like Mahira Khan, among others. His views have been the subject of debates and op-eds in Pakistan through the years.
A soap opera writer, Qamar is known for shows such as Meray Pass Tum Ho and Pyare Afzal. Though his shows often break viewership records, they get criticised for the portrayal of female characters.
He calls himself ‘Pakistan’s biggest feminist’ who had earlier advised ‘women to rape men if they want equality’. If that wasn’t enough, in 2020, the director hurled abuses at Aurat March organiser and journalist Marvi Sirmed for the slogan, ‘My body, my choice’. In 2021, he commented on the horrendous killing of Noor Muqadam, he blamed her killing on the “dirty narrative of feminists”. Feminists, activists, and even op-eds have openly called for his boycott but to little avail.
Later on Monday, when reporters questioned him on why he had gone to meet a woman at 4 in the morning, he answered that his doctors have advised him not to go out in the sunlight. One Instagram user now wants the abductors to be punished for releasing him.
Sociologist Nida Kirmani tweeted: “Khalil ur Rehman getting robbed after answering an unknown woman’s invitation to meet her in the middle of the night is poetic justice at its best.”
Podcast channel The Pakistan Experience also asked on X: “Mazhab aur morality Kay thekaydaar Khalil ur Rehman Qamar ko ek larki ka phone aya aur woh unkay ghar pohanch Gaye? (The guardian of morality and religion got a phone call from a woman and immediately reached her house?)”
Kirmani further wrote: “Bhai, ghair aurat ke saath aap 12 bajje raat mein kya karne nikle the? Aapko aaj kal ke haalaat ka ne pata hai? Aapne biwi ki ijazat li thee? (Brother, why did you go to meet an unknown woman at midnight? Don’t you know the times we live in? Did you take your wife’s permission?)”
Jibes, memes, sarcasm
Others were not so subtle.
Another wrote: “Heard that a gang kidnapped Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar, beat him up and looted him. What terrible people that they didn’t make videos and air it live.”
‘Was Khalil-ur-Rehman reportedly assaulted by a group? How can anyone attack a 60-year-old man? That’s extremely inhumane and unacceptable. Please do it again,” the user asked. Another responded: “It appears Khalil-ur-Rehman was honey-trapped. Might have thought he would get some action. And while he did get some action, it wasn’t the sort he signed up for.”
The memes were no less harsh.
One user posted a picture of Bollywood actor Salman Khan dressed up as a woman with the caption: “Lady Amna who honey trapped Khalil-ur-Rehman’.
No one’s interested in Pakistani clowns and their medieval mindset. Of course, Ms. Debdutta is an exception. Her obsession with Pakistan continues.