Behind the bars on his wedding night
By Saher Baloch
Twenty-seven-year-old Asim*, a civil engineer, found himself in a 9x12 prison cell recently. He wasn't there because he had tried to snatch someone's mobile phone at gunpoint or robbed a bank. Asim was in prison because he was late for his own wedding. "Since the day I decided to get married, everything that could go wrong went wrong. We were planning to run away, as the girl (now my wife) was not from our family and both of us had to face immense opposition from our families," he said.

Dance, eat and get married before midnight
The government thinks the decision of not allowing the wedding halls to entertain ceremonies after midnight is a security measure. People, on the other hand, take it as a step that is depriving them of the most important moments of their lives
By Zeeshan Azmat
After the imposition of ban on wedding ceremonies after midnight, even though a majority of wedding halls and lawns wrap up programmes before time, there are plenty of alternatives for people who want to extend the fun. The authorities claim that the decision has been taken due to security concerns while people believe that this ban is a way of depriving them of celebrating important occasions vigorously.

Not only has the government issued orders to restrict wedding functions to midnight, in case of defiance of the order, the government has also called for action against the groom: he will be detained for six months, along with the owner of the wedding hall.

Hussain Ikram, who got married last week, told Kolachi, said that the decision to restrict parties and weddings to midnight is a good step to conserve energy, and will also encourage time management. Moreover, he says that he is not perturbed at the news of detaining the groom. "At my wedding, we took all the necessary measures to manage everything in time and leave the hall 15 minutes before the deadline," he said.

Ikram completely supports government's initiative and believes that the government should continue to discourage late night businesses such as wedding halls and shopping centres, which consume electricity that can otherwise be useful for industries.

For the sake of increasing Pakistan's export products, the government must arrange uninterrupted power supply for industries which would otherwise run on furnace oil or diesel, ultimately increasing production costs. These are the peak months for weddings, and the timing of government's move is brilliant, and may bring desired results, Ikram observed.

"I like the fallout of this government decision. People are religiously following this order. I think government should give the deadline of 11.30pm instead of midnight, at least in the colder months of December and January. People will support that decision too," Sajjad Ahmed, a 27-year-old a teacher at a private university, told Kolachi. Narrating his experience of attending his cousin's marriage last week, Ahmed said, "Everyone was in a hurry; everyone was charged and watchful of the time. At exactly 11:55pm, the bride got into the groom's car and left the wedding hall. Just after five minutes, when the clock struck 12, the lights of the hall were switched off -- an unusual sight in recent times for all of us standing there."

Until a few weeks ago, people deliberately delayed and concluded wedding ceremonies by 2.00 am or even later. The situation today is different. The success of the government's order is not only because people are following it strictly, but that wedding hall owners are also stern in this regard and switch off the hall lights by midnight, despite the fact that there are no policemen around.

Besides wedding hall owners, the police are also an important factor behind the successful implementation of this order. A police official told Kolachi that public response regarding this order is overwhelming and that people were cooperating with them. When asked whether the police have used force or people voluntarily observe the order, he said: "Except few instances, the order has been followed in spirit without the use of force by the authorities."

Almost all wedding halls have placed small and big banners on their reception gates which read: "Hall Ki Lights Theek Bara Bajay Band Kardi Jain Gi (Hall lights shall be switched off at 12am sharp)." This method of notifying people has proved quite effective as it reminds people to follow the deadline and manage their time and activities accordingly, Ahmed said.

This order has also served as a blessing for office goers, school, colleges and university students who suffer a lot when they reach home at 3am or 4 am. "It is a well established norm in Karachi to leave wedding halls by 2am to 3am, though many find it irritating to stay late for group photographs and movies, but who cares when majority overshadows minority," said 21-year-old Muhammad Kawish, whose sister got married recently. "Very few of us care for time management. You will notice this attitude everywhere in out society. We waste time in marriages as if one has a license to waste time."

According to 26-year-old Ali Ahmed, coming late to weddings halls is widely acceptable, but those who come on time are tagged as fools. "I believe that the government should strictly continue with this order until our society starts realising the awful outcomes of mismanagement," Ali Ahmed said. "How unfortunate is that those who abide by the law in our society are considered fools, but we welcome those who show disrespect to law and management?"

Thou shalt not party beyond midnight

According to a notification issued on November 14, the Sindh government under Section 144 of CrPC has imposed a ban on wedding functions after midnight all over the province.

Violation of this order will attract penal action under Section 188 CrPC upon owners of premises such as marriages halls, lawns, hotels and other places where such functions are held. All Station House Officers (SHOs) are directed to take strict action against violators falling within their jurisdictions.

Moreover, in case of aerial firing at weddings the groom will be arrested. The ban has been imposed for an indefinite period.

Stakeholders, experts welcome government's decision

Wedding halls and lawns across the city have put up banners telling their customers to be prepared to leave by midnight. The guests are being forewarned to arrive early because electricity will be switched off. Dinner is served at nine o' clock and the bride no longer has to suffer under the weight of her heavily-embroidered dress.

The government's order has particularly made Saifullah happy. He is the manager of Aero Club lawns situated near Nipa Chowrangi. He is now able to see off over 2,000 customers every night and still have time to go home and sleep. "It is an extremely good initiative. I am happy, the bride and groom are happy and the guests are happy too," he said enthusiastically, adding that not once has anyone approached him with a complaint since the government order was passed. "Instead, everyone is appreciating it."

Guests who had become used to arriving at Mehndi, Baraat and Valima functions at 11.00pm are now showing up three hours earlier. The norm to come to the wedding ceremonies at the last moment often dragged the party into the wee hours of morning. This had shot up demand and rates of wedding halls and lawns on the weekends when people don't have to worry about going to work the next day. The ban has also helped managers like Saifullah save money in terms of reduced electricity bills.

Hundreds of thousands of lights are simultaneously switched on at the marriage halls right after sunset, even when guests do not start arriving late into the night. The order which was issued by the Home Department on November 14 had two main objectives: to stop nighttime robberies and conserve electricity. Senator Gul M Lot, a leader of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, and strong proponent of the order, says rising street crimes had made it imperative for the government to come up with preventive tool. "It is not possible to deploy a police mobile van at every marriage hall and lawn," he said, adding that a police force of just 20,000 men had city of 15 million people to serve. "A bride and her female relatives wearing jewelry are easy targets for criminals especially in winter when most parts are deserted after midnight."

While it is hard to establish if terrorists have any incentive of striking a wedding party, he insists random attacks in other cities have necessitated need for taking precautions against such incidence. But when authorities make security concern as one of the reasons for early closure of wedding receptions, insufficient policemen being part of it, people are questioning why then politicians, bureaucrats and the elite are allotted protocol of two mobile vans?

Ali Mumtaz Zaidi, the special home secretary, says that is because murder of some special individuals who hold high offices could have demoralising effect on the whole society. "Policemen who used to get tired standing outside marriage halls can now be diverted somewhere else for vigilance," he said. "Besides having meal on time is also good for health." He said owners of marriage halls and lawns had developed a habit of switching on the lights in the evenings even if the place was empty. "They do that to market themselves and attract other customers."

Experts are hailing the move too. Sharfuddin Memon, Chief of the Citizen Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), while talking to Kolachi said that the result of the decision will start to appear in a month or two when the data is collected to match the crime rate in the period before the ban was imposed and the situation after ban. "Many a times we have seen that street criminals strike after midnight and ladies attending the marriages are especially vulnerable," he said, explaining that most of the crooks reside in vicinity of the crime scene. "These are young men from the same area which they know well. They strike, run and hide," Memon explained. However, he said the government officials should also avoid moving with heavy protocol of security men. "That gives a wrong impression. A citizen thinks he is not safe when high officials are not."

Nevertheless, the decision will help foster culture of conserving electricity, which is short in supply in the whole country. Experts have for long advocated energy conservation but little has been done on part of the government. In its response, the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) deeply appreciated the measure that is likely to improve consumer behaviour towards consumption of power resource. Ayesha Eirabie, the spokesperson of the KESC, says it is hard to measure the impact of the decision since after 12am it is not the peak load time of electricity consumption and given that the weather has changed now. "But we are sure that if the practice is followed by our other commercial users as well, we would be able to conserve some energy."

-- The News photos

Behind the bars on his wedding night

Twenty-seven-year-old Asim*, a civil engineer, found himself in a 9x12 prison cell recently. He wasn't there because he had tried to snatch someone's mobile phone at gunpoint or robbed a bank. Asim was in prison because he was late for his own wedding. "Since the day I decided to get married, everything that could go wrong went wrong. We were planning to run away, as the girl (now my wife) was not from our family and both of us had to face immense opposition from our families," he said.

Asim's wife, Samreen*, was a Pathan, and Asim belonged to an Urdu-speaking family. However, after a spate of bickering and fights, Asim and Samreen finally got a green signal from their respective families. "We decided to get married before our parents change their minds," Asim added with a grin.

On November 19, Asim tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend, Samreen, but with a minor glitch. Uniformed men joined the celebrations to add a bit of dram. "We had a proper Nikah at home in the afternoon and just had to go to the hall for Rukhsati, so everyone took their own time in getting ready for the occasion," Asim said.

When the groom's family reached the gates of the wedding hall in Baloch Colony, 15 minutes after midnight, a police mobile was already waiting for them outside. Asim saw one of his uncles speaking to a constable, who pretended as if he was not listening. When Asim inquired, he was told that the police have been standing here for a very long time warning them to finish the wedding proceedings around midnight, but because the Barat had not arrived, the bride's family could not do much except wait for the groom.

Asim's mother, Roshan* says that it was really embarrassing for them as the guests started to leave, "but we asked them to sit as the food had not been served yet; we did not know that the police will create such a hue and cry over it."

On the other hand, before Asim could get a word in he was escorted by two police constables towards the mobile van. Inside the police station, Asim was asked to sit on a bench but as his uncles got into a spat with the policemen he was taken to a cramped cell. Though he was asked to leave around 2.00am, but for Asim and his family this was a completely unforgettable experience.

What the family did not know, was that the government has etched out new restrictions against late night wedding parties; and has asked wedding hall owners to close up around midnight. Most wedding halls close at the exact time or give 'Kharchi' to a constable to leave them in peace. In a similar incident involving another family, the groom's father paid around Rs8,000 in order to get his son out of jail.

Some people vehemently refuse to follow this new restriction. Roshan, Asim's mother, is one such person who thinks that the policemen ruined her son's wedding. "Weddings are meant to be enjoyed and we are not in a school to finish everything around 12. A lot of things have to be considered; there are guests to be looked after and then there's food to be served. How do they expect us to warp it up quickly," she asked.

Not everyone agrees with Roshan though. Retired Col. Khalid Rehmat, a resident of Clifton, is very happy with the government's stance. Serving in Army for the past 20 years he says that there's no discipline at all in the way people conduct their daily activities. "I have spent many sleepless nights due to all the noise created by these wedding halls. Most programmes start around 11pm and finish as late as 3am. I can't be more thankful to the government for taking a stand on this issue," he said.

Thirty-year-old mother of two, Mehreen, concurs. She says that wedding parties mostly start around 10.30pm. "I put my children to bed around that time but with loud music and noise it is almost a Herculean task to put my kids to sleep," she said, adding that after this restriction at least they do not have to put up with the blaring music after midnight. Mehreen is a teacher by profession and says that she expects the home to be quiet when she comes back. "Now it's totally up to the people to sustain this restriction because it's high time we stop putting all the blame and responsibility on the government for a change and take a note of our own responsibilities," she said.

*Names have been changed to protect privacy.

Dance, eat and get married before midnight

After the imposition of ban on wedding ceremonies after midnight, even though a majority of wedding halls and lawns wrap up programmes before time, there are plenty of alternatives for people who want to extend the fun. The authorities claim that the decision has been taken due to security concerns while people believe that this ban is a way of depriving them of celebrating important occasions vigorously.

The Sindh government issued a notification last month that no wedding hall, lawn, hotel and other place would entertain wedding ceremonies after the midnight anywhere in the entire province. The authorities had asked the police to take strict action against the administration of premises where such functions are held. The authorities claim that this decision was necessary after observing the volatile security conditions in the country.

The people, however, think that these reasons do not justify the imposition of the ban and the ban would do nothing except restricting them from enjoying as important an occasion as a wedding. "During my wedding ceremony everyone was worried all the time about midnight.

This ban is unfair due to which we could not enjoy the wedding ceremony as much as we should have," said Saud, who got married on third day of Eidul Azha. He added that people in general and family members in particular have few occasions to enjoy and celebrate without bothering about anything. "Life is tense and people hardly get a chance to spend memorable moments with their loved ones," Saud added.

Mushtaq Khan, the father of a recently-married girl, said that it is unsuitable for them to arrange the wedding ceremony in the early hours of the evening. "Many people work till late in the evening and it is difficult for them to join the gathering at 8pm. Women also take time to get ready," he said. Meanwhile Khan said. "I arranged my daughter's wedding function using my resources to avoid any problems. The function came to an end at 02:30am and no official came to me to ask anything."

The survey conducted by the Kolachi revealed that while a large number of city's wedding halls do follow the ban, the wedding halls situated in New Karachi, Liaquatabad, Korangi and Federal B. Area violate the ban on regular basis. In this regard Shabaz Jameel, a resident of the Yaseenabad told Kolachi that a local wedding hall, Gulshan-e-Shamim Marriage Lawn, facilitates late night weddings regularly.

"On December 1, people opened aerial firing to celebrate the function. The local patrolling van of the police was standing at the corner but no action was taken against people who were involved in aerial firing," he said. Jameel added that it has become a routine in their area and he believes that the police take bribes or there must be some other reasons that the police do not take action.

Moreover Haji Abdul Majeed, whose son got married recently told Kolachi that it is the people who pay taxes and in return the government should make arrangements to protect our lives and properties from terrorists and street criminals rather than banning imposing ban on wedding ceremonies.

Kolachi has also learnt that the owners of the marriage halls are not in favour of the ban as they believe that the decision would put them in a financial quandary. They also predict that the ban has to come to an end sooner or later as the government could not continue to check the halls across the province and especially in the city.

On the other hand Muhammad Aamir, manager of Purple Apple Marriage Lawn, at Sharea Fiasal, near Baloch Colony Flyover, said that the people cooperate with them and no one offers money or insists to extend the function beyond midnight. He said that he switches off half of the lights of the hall at 11:30 to remind the public about the deadline and the ceremony concludes at midnight.

Moreover after this ban on the wedding halls people look for alternate options where they could celebrate the functions without any disturbance. Wedding functions are now being arranged at playgrounds and other open spaces.