Guitar Faraz Anwar recently took to social media to share that he was denied renting a house in Karachi because he is a musician. He shared the unfortunate experience with his followers on social media.
“Yesterday I went to see a house portion for rent in Gulshan-e-Iqbal,” he shared on Facebook. “The landlord asked me what do I do so I told him that I am a musician and singer. Today the landlord called me and said we can’t give our house [to you] on rent cause you’re a musician and we are very religious people.”
“I don’t know what to expect from now on cause people over here are extremely religious we say everyone has a freedom in Islam but this is how we treat our artists! this is so shameful & disgusting,” he continued.
“Wake up musicians this is how Pakistan going to treat you stand up for your rights or leave this profession cause this is not a profession here anyways.”
“You can’t even open a bank account in Pakistan if you say you are a musician. Thanks to Pakistan for everything,” Faraz said.
The guitarist shared another post to clarify, further.
“Let me clarify that it’s not about renting a place it’s about the musician rights,” he said. “Musicians or artists can’t open a bank account unless they lie. You can’t write your profession on national ID card. Musicians can’t rent out place for their families.”
Faraz shared that he is disappointed after reading the majority of the messages he has received following his post. He expressed his displeasure and said that maybe what society truly wants from artists is “to keep their mouth shut and ignore what is happening”.
“So what we want from artists is to keep their mouth shut and ignore what is happening, wow. I’m so disappointed after reading majority of the messages. May Allah guide you [all] to become a better nation and Muslim[s]; a nation where everyone has freedom to share their views, may Allah bless you all,” he concluded.
The musician was the lead guitarist in Noori’s live album Live at the Rock Musicarium and the frontman of rock band Mizraab. Faraz has also made several appearances in Coke Studio.
