Why Is Pakistan’s First Dating Show Lazawal Ishq Under Fire? Internet Gets Into Heated Debate As Show Faces Ban

In the last quarter of September, Pakistan had its first dating reality show, Lazawal Ishq. It was hoped to be like a breath of fresh air in the heavily moralised entertainment industry in the country.

But rather, it has caused a tremendous storm. Primarily filmed in Istanbul, the show, which was presented by the actor Ayesha Omar, has created a great controversy over the issue of religion, morality, and the shrinking of space given to pop culture in an Islamic Nation that is still bargaining over its association to modernity.

Lazawal Ishq Sparks Outrage

In the simplest sense, Lazawal Ishq is a typical international structure four men and four women who are staying in a high-end villa, creating relationships, facing heartbreak, and competing over who will win the prize of love in the shrine of the camera.

The name is literally translated as everlasting love, yet the response of the audience has hardly been loving.

Lazawal Ishq Divides Pakistan Over Morality and Modernity

Just days after its release, a petition was taken to the Islamabad High Court requesting it to impose a blanket ban on the show and stated that it was a violation of societal values and Islamic ethics and encouraged obscenity and moral corruption.

The petition also encouraged various authorities such as PEMRA and PTA to oversee online sites and refer to the Council of Islamic Ideology on the type of romantic information that can be uploaded online.

A country torn between decency and civilization.

The social media has since become a battlefield. On X (previously Twitter), the moral alarm bells went off on the feeds. One user wrote:

Pakistan is not a dating reality show market. In society, people can hardly hold hands. #LazawalIshq”

Another added: that I knew nothing about Lazawal Ishq that was to my liking.

To a group of Pakistanis, the show is considered to be an intrusion of the Western culture. Quite a number of users said verses in the Quran, calling on producers to preserve Islamic values and not to sell vulgarity with clicks.

Hashtags such as BanLazawalIshq and ProtectOurCulture broke into the top trending hashtags in 48 hours of the premiere.

However, in the wake of the moral policing, a smaller portion of the audience have also been able to justify the show as being harmless entertainment.

Ayesha Omar, the host who is regarded as among the most popular and daring actresses in Pakistan, has turned out to be the lightning rod and the shield of the show.

Her opponents attack her as promoting Western indecency, and her supporters praise her as courageous because of her boundary pushing the country, still trapped in the fifties.

Omar, who has been vocal on the gender equality issue, has remained silent on the whole controversy.

The Islamabad High Court has begun hearing the case, but Lazawal Ishq is still broadcasting unabated, unapologetic and, more ironically, even more popular than ever on YouTube.

The producers of the show believe that it should be taken as an exploration of a contemporary relationship issue, and not an insult to established views. 

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