Pak editor under fire for tweets on rape

ISLAMABAD: The editor of Newsweek’s Pakistan edition was at the centre of a controversy on Wednesday over his tweets on rape and paedophilia, with the magazine saying it was reviewing its relationship with him.

The Lahore Literary Festival announced that Fasih Ahmed, editor of the Pakistan edition of Newsweek, had rec used himself from the event after organisers received several complaints over his tweets. The organisers also said Ahmed’s resignation from the festival’s board of governors had been accepted.

The trouble began on Tuesday night when Lahore-based Ahmed posted two tweets on rape and child abuse that many in Pakistan and abroad considered insensitive.

One tweet, apparently deleted later, Ahmed said :“Rape by, say, O ba ma is rape. Rape by, say, Tom Cruise is everyone’ s dream come true. All subjective.”

“The sexual abuse of children will always exist. You can never eliminate it. Sometimes it leads to great art. So there’s also that,” he said in another tweet regarding the recent rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in the border town of Kasur. Referring to the arrest of a key suspect in the rape and murder case, Ahmed tweeted, “On the bright side, at least he’s (the suspect) straight.”

The tweets were criticised around the world, including by actor Alyssa Milano, who brought his posts to the attention of Newsweek on Twitter.

Ahmed apologised for his tweets on Wednesday, saying they were “poorly phrased” and that he was sorry to upset child abuse victims. He had earlier defended his views on Twitter.