Director of Khoosat Films Private Limited, Irfan Ali Khoosat has filed a petition in a Lahore civil court against the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) for “trying to interfere into the smooth running, public screening/releasing” of the movie Zindagi Tamasha . In the petition, Irfan urged the court to “[restrain] the defendant permanently from interfering into the peaceful releasing/public screening of above-named film on big screen/cinema in all over Pakistan illegally, unlawfully”. The petition also names Sindh Film Censor Board, Punjab Film Censor Board and Markazi Film Censor Board as respondents. It has been clarified, however, that the censor boards were “mere [proforma] defendants and the plaintiff has not claim (sic) any relief against them”. On Tuesday (today), the petition was heard by judge Ziaur Rehman, who issued notices to all respondents to appear before the court tomorrow to present their arguments. Also Read: ‘Zindagi Tamasha’ director writes letter to Imran Khan to halt restrictions on his film
What does the extreme reaction of TLP against Zindagi Tamasha say’s about the state of Pakistan?
The extreme reaction is unnecessary and if the movie isn’t screened due to the pressure TLP is putting on, that says a lot about the the state of Pakistan, and raises many questions. Why is Pakistan so scared to talk and explore religion? Why is everything not conforming to the hegemonic sunni Islamic views always labelled as blasphemy? How long will Pakistani artists stay crushed under the blasphemy laws? And the most important question, when will everyone in Pakistan will be allowed to exercise their freedom of expression without the blasphemy laws coming knocking at their doors? When? Let us know what you think of the Zindagi Tamasha situation in the comments down below.