Islamabad, Jan 17: T-shirts with funky messages
hardly ever go out of fashion. And with elections round the
corner in Pakistan --- never!
"Politicians and diapers need to be changed often for
the same reason", "Bad officials are elected by good citizens
who do not vote", "We fix your news the way we like it" and
"PEMRA: Pakistan Emergency Mafia Regulating Authority" are
some of the messages youngsters are flaunting on their
T-shirts.
The messages on the T-shirts, launched by a young
entrepreneur, could well be a guide to the who`s who in
Pakistani politics.
The T-shirts, going for Rs 395, are being marketed at a
Facebook Community called "political dare to wear".
"Political is a new brand, which is all about expressing
your views through innovative media. It is currently making
use of T-shirts to convey general sentiments about highly
sensitive issues such as the judicial crisis, law and order
situation, media curbs, etc," said a post on the Facebook
Community.
"If you feel strongly about the current situation
hitting your country and the world, here is a chance to
express your views in a vocal yet subtle way," it added.
Lahore-based Hasaan Khawar, the 31-year-old entrepreneur
who launched the political brand, has used caricatures of
horse- trading in Pakistan, the US policy towards the middle
east and the political role of civil society vis-a-vis the
Pakistan government`s policies.
"If you believe in the above ideas, then dare to wear,"
he challenges Facebookers.
Khawar and his 10-member group have also produced limited
edition T-shirts on the sacking of former Supreme Court Chief
Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Choudhry, maltreatment of lawyers by
police and the gagging of the media.
One of the pro-lawyer T-shirts has a message in Punjabi
-- "Kala Kot Pao, Sir Tey Dandey Khao" (wear a black coat and
get hit with sticks on your head).
There`s also a T-shirt on slain former premier Benazir
Bhutto in which the message on her tombstone reads: "Democracy
Buried: December 27, 2007".
Khawar was inspired to create his range while studying in
the US by seeing the products of the Jewish fashion
conspiracy, which sells T-shirts with political messages.
Bureau Report
