Official love: Big Brother is no longer watching you

The police did not seem to be bothered with expressions of love around them this Valentine’s Day. Police instead stood guard outside many parks and stopped from going inside groups that seemed likely to bother young couples.

Despite the police’s best effort to give love a chance, many youngsters did spoil the fun for some. The police, however, also did not stop this hooliganism. Many couples showed up in the security offices of parks to complain about the harassment. Saleem Jaffery said he went to Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park with his soul mate and was surprised as the evening went without a hitch. Last year, Jaffery said, the Muhafiz Force had taken their Valentine’s gift from him in the form of Rs300. Waqas, ‘you can call me Vicky,’ said couples enjoyed complete privacy. He said no one knocked on his door to check his identification. Vicky said this might also be a bad thing in terms of security in the city.

A police officer said that police personnel no longer cared about couples in parks as it was slowly becoming a part of the city’s culture. Earlier, he said, sitting with a girl in a park might have been met with raised eyebrows but this was no longer so. Now, being single was seen as pitiable. He said the police officers were being deterred from taking bribes from young couples.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 15^th, 2011.