Unconfirmed reports suggesting that Ali Sethi and Salman Toor have tied the knot in New York City have stirred a wave of opinions across orthodox Pakistani Twitter.
Since morning, there have been tweets suggesting that Pakistani singer Ali Sethi, known for his hit song Pasoori, and artist Salman Toor, had a wedding in New York.
If true, this would mark a historic moment as Pakistan’s first-ever high-profile gay wedding.
As a result, the hashtags #AliSethi, #NajamSethi, #Pasoori and #LBGTQ+ have been trending on X (formerly Twitter), igniting fervent debates on social media. While orthodox Pakistanis are massively triggered by the news of the wedding, a handful have congratulated Sethi and his father Najam Sethi.
Unverified reports of wedding
- If the rumours are true, Ali Sethi and Salman Toor’s wedding would undoubtedly be a milestone, given that it is one of Pakistan’s inaugural homosexual weddings.
- So far, neither Ali Sethi nor his father Najam Sethi have confirmed or denied the reports surrounding the wedding.
Confronting tradition and law
- The rumoured wedding has stirred a wave of opinions across orthodox Pakistani Twitter.
- While some liberals hailed his father Najam Sethi for raising a courageous son, hundreds attacked the two of them.
- Pakistani law and religious norms forbid gay marriage, and this has led to orthodox Pakistanis pouring all their rage on social media.
- The rumoured wedding highlights the inherent homophobia in the Pakistani society.
- Pakistan, a country whose law is broadly based on the sharia, punishes homosexuality with a prison sentence ranging from 2 years to life.
- Ali Sethi, celebrated for his musical prowess and numerous chartbusters, is the son of public figures Najam Sethi and Jugnu Mohsin, and the brother of actress Mira Sethi.
In an Instagram post last month, Ali Sethi also alluded to his ‘own (gay) taste’ while talking about a Spotify playlist that he had been asked to create.