On February 3, netizens from Pakistan called out North Nizamabad’s new Assistant Commissioner Hazim Bangwar for putting up a pride flag on Twitter in 2018. Bangwar, however, has denied the allegations in an Instagram story. In the story he wrote, “I never posted that nor have I ever held that!!”.
While trying to remove himself from the controversy and prove that he did not post any such image or tweet, he accidentally shared a post by Instagram user _hananrao proving him wrong. Apparently, he thought the post was in his favour while it was exposing his lie.
On February 3, Twitter user Haroon S Malik (Instagram user _hananrao) shared an alleged screenshot of Bangwar’s tweet from 2018 in which he had shared a photograph of a pride flag and wrote, “Happy Pride! #HappyPrideMonth #LoveIsLove #Loveyourself”. When OpIndia tried to access the tweet or its archive, it was not found on Twitter.
One shouldn’t get impressed by the mask he’s wearing. Deep down his reality is horrifying! https://t.co/zeVjp3cH5M pic.twitter.com/dZVwNXs4sf
— Aag laga dun? (@HaroonSMalik_) February 3, 2023
On February 4, Malik alleged that Bangwar deleted the tweet that had sparked controversy to avoid the criticism he was facing.
. @HazimBangwar just deleted the tweet 😂#northnazimabad #hazimbangwar pic.twitter.com/2GDN5alGiY
— Aag laga dun? (@HaroonSMalik_) February 4, 2023
Sharing a video of the screenshot in his gallery, Haroon questioned Bangwar why he had lied that he never held the flag. In the video, Haroon shows that the screenshot was taken on February 3, 2023.
Why would you lie @HazimBangwar ? #hazimbangwar pic.twitter.com/QFEbEKeFth
— Aag laga dun? (@HaroonSMalik_) February 4, 2023
The homophobic comments on Bangwar’s posts
Bangwar, who is a former singer and social media influencer, was recently appointed Assistant Commissioner in the North Nazimabad area of Pakistan. His appointment to the post created quite a buzz on Pakistan’s social media, with many taking a deep dive into Bangwar’s personal life and talking about his interests and ‘hobbies’.
Last week, Bangwar took to Twitter to share pictures from the office. “It is a privilege to serve you as your new Assistant Commissioner,” read the tweet.
Discussions on social media were stirred not by Bangwar’s appointment with the police but by the unconventional and patently feminine dressing sense reflected in his Instagram posts. Naturally, in a deeply conservative society such as Pakistan, where Islam is a state religion that regards gender fluidity as illegitimate, Bangwar’s demeanour came under attack from homophobic elements.
Bangwar’s nonconformist personality had the detractors unsettled as they left nasty homophobic comments on his pictures on Instagram. “Pura ka pura h*jda lagta he,” read a comment on a picture of Hazim Bangwar where he is seen wearing a Leopard print dress.
His posts were bombarded with homophobic comments. He was called “Khu*sy”, “Hi*ra” and more on his posts.
OpIndia could not independently verify if the accusations against Hazim Bangwar were true or not. However, the netizen who first shared the screenshot claims it was taken on February 3, 2023. The archive of any such tweet was not found.
