Abbottabad man seeking to open first gay club in Pakistan admitted to mental hospital

A 50-year-old man, who requested to open the country’s first gay club in Abbottabad, has been detained in a mental health facility by local authorities, The Telegraph reported on Sunday.

The man had filed an application to the Deputy Commissioner of the city, which went viral on social media and sparked outrage among locals and religious groups who opposed allowing such a space in the city.

The applicant stated in his letter that the club will 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 Telegraph report, local leaders from Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI) vehemently condemned the possibility of a gay club being established in Abbottabad.

“The Telegraph, which tried to visit the applicant in his home, has learned that he was transferred to the Sarhad hospital for psychiatric disease in Peshawar on May 9,” the publication said.

The UK newspaper spoke with the man's friends, who expressed concern for his safety and revealed they are unable to visit him.

“We do not know about his well-being for many days,” they said, adding that they had “tried to find out about him a couple of times but without success”.

"Everyone fears speaking out could put them at risk," one friend said he was well-known locally.

He was now highly “vulnerable” and “anything could happen to him at any time,” the British news outlet quoted a person as saying. 

When approached by The Telegraph after filing his application with the deputy commissioner, the man stated, "I talk about human rights and I want everyone's human rights to be defended."

“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 applicant told the UK publication.

He said that if his application is rejected, he “will approach the court and I hope that like the Indian court, the Pakistani court will rule in favour of gay people.”