Man Detained in Pakistan After Attempting to Establish First Gay Club

A Pakistani man detained by police after he tried to establish the first gay club in the country has sparked a debate about the rights of LGBTQ people in Pakistan.

A Pakistani man is currently in a mental hospital after he tried establishing the first gay club in the country, according to a recent report. The man, whose identity has not been released, was interviewed by the Telegraph on Sunday shortly before he was institutionalized.

The man explained that he filed an application to the deputy commissioner of Abbottabad to establish a gay club, which he tentatively called Lorenzo Gay Club. The application reportedly explained that the club would be designed 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." The application also noted that "there would be no gay (or non-gay) sex (other than kissing)."

The man was then detained by authorities and transported to a mental hospital in Peshawar, which is roughly 125 miles west of Abbottabad, according to the report.

"I have started the struggle for the rights of the most neglected community in Pakistan and I will raise my voice in every forum," the man told the Telegraph. "If the authorities refuse, then I will approach the court and I hope that like the Indian court, the Pakistani court will rule in favor of gay people."

"I [speak] about human rights and I want everyone’s human rights to be defended," he added.

According to the website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Pakistan still criminalizes homosexual acts through Section 377 of its national penal code.

"Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than two years nor more than ten years, and shall also be liable to a fine," the law reads.

The OHCHR document states that Pakistan's provisions against homosexual acts "have been found to constitute a clear violation of international human rights law."

According to Human Dignity Trust, a non-profit based in London, only gay men are criminalized under the Pakistan Penal Code.

"There is some evidence of the law being enforced in recent years, with LGBT people occasionally being subject to arrest," the non-profit's website reads. "There have been consistent reports of discrimination and violence being committed against LGBT people in recent years, including murder, rape, assault, and the denial of basic rights and services."

Pakistan's treatment of LGBTQ people has been criticized by human rights groups. In 2018, the United States Department of State's annual human rights report on Pakistan noted that "LGBT persons continued to face discrimination and violence, including extrajudicial killings, and were subject to arrest and prosecution under laws criminalizing same-sex sexual conduct."

The report also noted that "the government continued to block efforts to decriminalize same-sex sexual conduct."

In 2019, the Pakistani government rejected a petition to decriminalize same-sex sexual conduct, arguing that it was "contrary to the injunctions of Islam."

The man's attempt to establish a gay club in Pakistan is a rare example of LGBTQ people in the country speaking out against discrimination and violence. However, it is unclear whether his efforts will lead to any change in the government's stance on homosexuality.