Solis Festival happened in Islamabad this weekend but what was meant to be a night of fun featuring international DJs turned into a terrifying experience for many.
Only two out of the five performers got to play their set. The concert, held at the PNCA, which has a capacity of approximately 1000 people, was overrun by gatecrashers and people who were allegedly sold fake tickets; the rowdy crowd was out of control as they thrashed the stage, destroying equipment and causing the VIP lounge to collapse resulting in numerous injuries.
Few attendees, including both women and men, reported being molested and sexually assaulted amidst the chaos that ensued.
i was at #solis festival and was on the vip platform that fell. tragic. hating it here. my knee hurts. calling a lawyer. pic.twitter.com/0Li9HsrJI7
— ???????????????? (@mayazafarr) February 15, 2020
From mismanagement to over populated event from breaking VIP lounges to destruction of stage, one can easily navigate that we are intolerant society as a whole that needs schooling badly I REPEAT BADLY #Solis #solisfestival #Islamabad pic.twitter.com/MxAqNiBhlM
— SUMAIRA RAJPUT (@sumaira_rajput) February 16, 2020
After uproar on social media on the matter, Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat tweeted about an inquiry that was underway and a FIR being registered. He added that company behind the festival had been blacklisted.
FIR is being registered. Report is ready. Inquiry is under process. @ICT_Police. Company is already blacklisted and will not be allowed any future event in Islamabad. https://t.co/wFJs3ffYj9
— Deputy Commissioner Islamabad (@dcislamabad) February 16, 2020
‘Attacked by scores of men’
An Instagram influencer, Shanza, wrote about her experience. She said she lost consciousness when the VIP enclosure fell and when she regained consciousness, a guy was trying to snatch her bag. She said he was almost strangling her with the strap that was now around her neck. She said when she looked at her sister, whose leg was stuck under a grill, a guy was on top of her.
“We’re panicking and literally no one’s helping because in this moment, these filthy, frustrated men get a chance and start touching, groping and harassing us, it took me a moment to realise what they’re doing because I was in absolute hysteria. My body was aching because of the injuries. I was almost numb and Solis Festival continued and the DJs didn’t even stop the music.”
She further narrated: “My little brother picked us all up with his forehead bleeding and then we rushed straight out. What we see is literally a group of men following a girl who’s walking her way in, a guy slapping a girl who accused him of harassing and a whole lotta other stuff. We couldn’t walk. I don’t know how we made it to the car but not a single person was there to help. We went straight to the hospital, my leg tissues and muscles are torn, my best friend’s leg was fractured, my sister’s hands were bleeding and her thighs bruised.”
“The lounge collapsing and us getting injured is one thing but the harassment we faced in that chaos was truly horrifying. I can’t even gather enough strength and feel disgusted writing about the harassment we faced. How are you going to pay us back for last night, @solisfestival?” she wrote.
Another festival attendee, Mahnoor Baloch, said she witnessed mass harassment and recounted an incident where she said a girl was slapped by a guy who had touched her inappropriately.
“A woman was groped in front of me and she turned around and told the guy off who in turn slapped her. I can’t even tell you what was happening with women in front of me there,” she said in an Instagram video.
A similar account was shared on Facebook by a user named Alina Ahsan.
“Her entire head was soaked in blood, she wasn’t talking; we didn’t know at the time she was concussed. Her state was really bad, people had trampled all over her. My friend had to be admitted to the hospital and got discharged at 4 pm the next day. I tried calling 15 but there were no signals at the venue. When we finally found our guy friend whose car we had come in, he said there were guys trying to touch him as well and even his phone was stolen” said Alina.
A man who wished to remain anonymous revealed to us that he was groped on his way out from the festival.
Everyone was shoving and pushing to make their way inside. I had a pass in my hand but no one checked it. There was no space to move around; people were getting into fights and harassing women openly. When some girls started shouting “save us”, management made an announcement telling people to stop or they’re going to shut off the music.
“They called the police but they couldn’t do much; by now, a mob had gotten onto the stage and had started breaking things. Even when we finally made our way out through the mayhem, there was a mob waiting outside with sticks, I’m not sure how we escaped. It was so mismanaged, barely any bouncers and security.”
Statement from Solis
Previously, the Solis management issued two statements via their Instagram account.
“We had to make the difficult decision to stop the event due to hundreds of individuals who fought their way through with fake tickets. This spoiled the night for everyone else that purchased authorized tickets. As always, security and safety is at the utmost priority for our festival attendees, vendors, sponsors and artists. We want all our fans to feel safe and happy at every show, and because of the actions of these individuals we weren’t able to do so.
They ended the note, thanking fans who purchased real tickets and sharing that they’ll be issuing another statement at a later time.
In their second post, the company lauded itself for putting on three other successful events prior to the one in Islamabad and reiterated that they had made arrangements accordingly and it was people who stormed the place with free tickets that resulted in pandemonium.
“Despite all the challenges of putting together such an experience in Pakistan (the things you don’t see behind the scenes like finding the right speakers, pyro, the security gates that need to be built from scratch, to convincing our artists that Pakistan is indeed safe and beautiful), we made it happen. Not once, not even 3 times in 2019, but for the 4th time yesterday in Islamabad till the incident hours after doors opened. We chose the venue and our security based on the number of tickets sold and made arrangements based on this,” they wrote.
“We warned against fake tickets on numerous occasions. However, we underestimated the sheer volume of thousands of “fake tickets” that were being sold illegally. These people were denied entry, but broke our barricades and forced themselves in, climbing on VIP platforms which couldn’t take the weight and destroyed our stage putting everyone’s safety at risk. To those that believed in us and came to genuinely enjoy the show, we are deeply sorry that this experience was ruined by others. We know that you came far and wide and we know how much you were looking forward to this event as we were too.”
They added that they had to shut down the event as they could not put the safety and security of “true fans” at risk.
“What some of you didn’t see was the further damage these individuals caused after we shut down the event. Crores Of damage have set us back even further. While we will hold on Solis indefinitely in Islamabad, we will NOT let this define us. We will LEARN and PERSEVERE and keep giving Pakistan an experience they haven’t had before, much like we have done in the past. We will NOT let the actions of a few decide for the rest of us. We will be back,” they concluded.
Incidents of harassment at concerts and musical events in Pakistan have been called out before. In 2017, a woman was harassed at an Atif Aslam concert in Karachi. After spotting the harassment, the singer stopped his show to make sure she was safe. This is the second time Solis Festival has come under fire for not creating a safe space; a young woman who attended last year’s edition at Lahore’s Oasis Golf & Aqua Resort had also alleged that she was sexually assaulted at the event.
