Pakistan Valentine's celebrations leads to brawls
Two students were injured in a clash today in a university classroom in Karachi between students celebrating Valentine’s Day and others who objected to observance of the holiday as an unwelcome Western import.
One young man said “Happy Valentine’s Day” to a girl, drawing the anger of others who did not think the holiday has a place in Pakistan, and leading to a fist fight at Federal Government Urdu Science University, said Khalid Sheikh, a local police official.
About 50 Muslim hard-liners protested elsewhere in the southern port city against Valentine’s Day.
The News daily newspaper dressed up its front page with hearts and a red background today – but an opinion column on the same page blasted Valentine’s Day as endorsing a “culture of free sex and immoral male-female relations”.
“Being totally irrelevant to the nation’s history or its dominant faith, Valentine’s Day is not only a mismatch to our cultural and religious traditions but also is in direct friction with them,” the editorial said.
Observance of Valentine’s Day has grown in recent years in Pakistan. Red, heart-shaped balloons and cards for sale are a common sight.
