Governor House wedding shoot triggers furious debate on social media
Renowned journalist Saleem Safi shared a TikTok video on Tuesday on X (formerly Twitter) of a newlywed couple in wedding attire running around the Governor House for their wedding photoshoot. He criticised the KP governor for allowing such practices.
گورنر ہاؤس پشاور جہاں ان دنوں جے یوآئی کے سربراہ مولانا فضل الرحمان کے سمدھی حاجی غلام علی براجمان ہیں ، میں ان دنوں فلموں اور گانوں کی شوٹنگ بھی ہوتی ہے ۔ تبدیلی آنہیں رہی ،تبدیلی آگئی ہے۔ pic.twitter.com/Gb6JKclCo2
— Saleem Safi (@SaleemKhanSafi) December 5, 2023
Safi later shared the response of Governor Haji Ghulam Ali where he was defending the practice as something that has been happening for a long time. The media in-charge to KP Governor Maaz Fida issued a clarification, explaining that governor house has always been open to the public for wedding photo shoots, with the condition that they obtained prior permission. In a post shared by Saleem Safi, the screenshot of the clarification, Fida dismissed the news of any film shooting taking place in the governor house.
He said, “Public’s governor’s public governor house is just as accessible to newly married couples as it is for anyone else”. He said that the video doing rounds on social media is of such a couple that had formally obtained permission for the photoshoot.
Fida added that there used to be a fee for such photo shoots, which was abolished by Ghulam Ali when he became the governor. He said that a specific portion of the governor house is open for such photo shoots and anyone can obtain the facility.
Safi counter-criticized the Governor’s statement by saying that if this is the case then would couples from lower strata of society be allowed to have their photoshoots in there.
گورنر ہاوس پشاور میں ایک جوڑے کی شوٹ سے متعلق میرے ٹویٹ کے جواب میں گورنر حاجی غلام علی کا اپنے ترجمان کے ذریعے وضاحتی بیان۔۔۔ مجھے تحقیق کا درس دینے والے نے خود یہ تحقیق نہیں کی کہ ویڈیو میں نے جاری نہیں کی بلکہ وہ ٹک ٹالک کی ویڈیو ہے جو میں نے شئیر کی۔ یہ ویڈیو جوڑے نے خود یا… pic.twitter.com/99de0ZoNee
— Saleem Safi (@SaleemKhanSafi) December 5, 2023
The interaction has divided social media where some are defending the practice while others are criticising the fact that romantic photoshoots mar the sanctity of the place.
Like seriously 😒 😳 Governor house for romantic wedding shoot 😬@GovtofPakistan https://t.co/8sMEbejuC7
— sara Hassan 🇵🇰 (@ruddygirl29) December 6, 2023
There's nothing wrong with it. The governor house is supported by taxpayer money and isn't anyone's personal property – it's a public property. If someone wants to use it for their wedding photoshoot or TikTok videos after paying a token fee, there should be no controversy about… https://t.co/FW6ad6PuwZ
— Najeeb Ullah (@iNajeebUllah_) December 5, 2023
Some X users found this funny enough to make memes on it.
now other couples going to Governor house Peshawar for their romantic kiss-free wedding shoot https://t.co/GgRrYciqsl pic.twitter.com/fxunri9Vt1
— Ali Qasim (@aliqasim) December 5, 2023
Renting out Governor House for Wedding Photoshoots 😂
— Hamad Kafeel (@Hamadkafeel) December 5, 2023
It is important to note that renting out public properties for a nominal fee for photo shoots or events is a common practice, all across the world and in Pakistan as well. In March 2020, the then-Governor Punjab, Chaudhry Sarwar, had also approved renting out the Lahore Governor House estate for commercial activities to generate operational expenditures.