Love was in the air in Pakistan's federal capital and other major cities, with almost everyone from little girls to grown-ups celebrating Valentine's Day.
Love was in the air on Saturday in Pakistan's federal capital and other major cities, with almost everyone from little girls to grown-ups celebrating Valentine's Day, which some described in jest as "love in the time of jihad".
Gift shops in the main markets in Islamabad have been well-stocked with Valentine's Day specials and the young and the not-so-young have been thronging outlets decked up with pink and ribbons, balloons and many hearts.
Illusions, a leading gift shop in the capital's elitist Jinnah Super Market, went the extra mile to make this Valentine's Day special. The entire shop has been done up in pink and red and special cards, candles and expensive chocolates are on offer. Though the prices hit the ceiling, not many were seen complaining.
"A medium-sized basket of assorted chocolates with some candles and a card costs about Rs 6,000," a shop help at the Illusion's outlet said. Larger baskets were priced a whopping Rs 8,000 almost double the usual salary of a domestic help.
Most such gift shops played love songs to keep the mood right. Despite incessant rains over the past two days, girls and boys were out in droves to buy music, movies and cuddly soft toys to gift to friends.
Little girls could be seen trotting off to schools on Saturday morning holding stalks of red roses and hand-made Valentine Day cards. Sabah, a Class 2 student at the Urdu-medium Government Girls' School, carried handmade cards for her friends.
"I started making cards two weeks ago. I have put glitter on the cards," Sabah said, showing a card which mistakenly spelt Valentine's Day as "Happy Valin Time".
The hoopla surrounding Valentine's Day also figured in the proceedings of the Punjab provincial assembly on Friday, with some legislators opposing the celebration of the event. However, one lawmaker suggested to the Speaker that a flower shop should be set up within the assembly premises for the legislators!
Florists couldn't have been happier. Apart from the usual roses, gladiolas dyed in bright colours were hot picks for the love-struck. On the pavements, there were many people selling red balloons, most of them heart-shaped, and trying to keep up with the demand.
Restaurants had special Valentine's Day menus and school and college-going youth were seen at favourite hangouts like The Hot Spot and Gelato Affaire near Jinnah Super Market.
Though the day is being celebrated with fervour, most people did not ignore security issues as conservative forces have dubbed Valentine's Day as "un-Islamic".
"I have told my children to be very careful and to avoid crowded places," said a woman who was dropping her daughter to a college here.
A hitherto unheard of extremist group called the "Allah Army" sent threatening emails, saying it would "sabotage" Valentine's Day celebrations. The group, which has claimed responsibility for a string of bomb attacks on theatres in Lahore, warned people not to celebrate the event.
The Jinnah University for Women in the southern port city of Karachi also got into the act, organising a debate for its students on the topic: "Is Valentine's Day celebration necessary for us?"
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