The Canvas

I promised myself not to write about the Bhutto family anymore, but there is nothing more interesting in the news these days. The Dailymail runs another story on the young chairman of PPP, Bilawal, that details his sexual exploits, his partying and his drinking company.

It seems there is a lot to look forward to, since he is treading his mother’s footsteps really well. While the article claims that Bilawal hasn’t really drunk a single sip, it does mention his alcoholic partners, and those too being the two women he loves to ‘live it up’ with.

Orthodox Muslims will be surprised to see the new leader of the Pakistani People’s Party with his arms slung casually around two girls, one of whom declares herself as “bisexual” on a social networking website.

Conversations he has with friends on Facebook make reference to being hungover, his friendship with a girl he calls “Boozie Suzie” and the joys of “free alcohol”.

There is no evidence that Bilawal drinks alcohol – but he was certainly living it up with his two female friends at a raucous black-tie party thrown by a student drinking society.

Bilawal had been enjoying the freedom of his first year at Oxford before he was named as his mother’s successor after her assassination last month.

It was all a far cry from the country of his birth, which is bound by strict Muslim customs where drinking is forbidden, homosexuality is illegal and male and female friendships carefully controlled. (Glen Owen / Dailymail)

And for no better reason would the native citizens of western countries despise us more, when we go to their countries and try to change our identity in such a manner. I won’t use the words, but a ‘Paki’ should know his place in accordance to his cultural heritage and his cultural background, without denying one’s self from being an active member of their societies.

Many people retort to this allegation by saying “he’s just a kid.” Well, honey, it’s time he grew up. And thanks to the ‘will’ of his slain mother, he now has to take the responsibility of every step he takes. A bit difficulty for his age, but thats what his gracious mother believed was best for him, and thats what nearly all orphan children have to deal with early in their lives.

Another more stereotypical response to this comes in the form of a generalization, that all Pakis do the same in college life. While I take serious offense to that word, I can bare it for discussion’s sakes. The premise of this argument is that since everybody does it, what if this kid did the same too. Which is total mis-characterization of the Pakistani student body studying abroad. It should be remembered that Pakistan does not have the best of education in the world, and many parents have to change countries and cultures just so that their children could get a good education and a good job. It is not easy for them to scrape out the money for that sort of education and neither do their children act like 13 year olds going on bling flings, and booze binges. They are responsible and respectable people. Just to protect the acts of one Pakistani kid, it is unjust to take away from others what they have held dear to themselves, the Pakistani culture, regardless of their religion.

While I am in no place to tell another person how to live his life, considering the fact that I may be wrong too, I can certainly raise my voice when I see some wrong being done in part by our [future] political leaders.