Fashionista bureaucrat Hazim Bangwar draws Fawad Chaudhry’s ire

Hazim Bangwar, a bureaucrat who has also served as Assistant Commissioner in Karachi, has drawn former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry’s ire with his latest attire stint.

Known for his extravagant choice of outfits and eccentric personality, Bangwar is not your typical bureaucrat dressed in plain clothes to compliment the sturdy personality with the likes of his colleagues.

Instead, holding a degree in Fashion Design and Marketing from AIU London followed by an LLB degree from the UK as well, he seems to be a rather unapologetic civil servant who often dons blingy outfits and challenges the stereotypical social expectations and norms.

He is also a singer and released his first single Haram in 2019 — which became a hit in South Korea, Hungry, Egypt, and India — followed by his second song Hell Ya and his first Urdu song in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Bangwar recently attended a local style award dressed in a black gothic-style outfit paired with a silver metallic chain.

“Pakistan might not have Met Gala, but it has a lot of style,” Bangwar wrote on his Instagram account.

This apparently didn’t sit well with ex-minister Fawad who took to X to reprimand the fashion-oriented civil servant urging him to “respect the office”.

“Indian Civil Service was first merit-based Bureaucracy of the modern world, the authors of Travelyn’s report could have never imagined in their wild dream the decline we are witnessing in Pakistan […] show some respect to the office you are occupying,” the politician said while reacting to a social media post which shared Bangwar’s video.

However, the former minister wasn’t the only one who didn’t welcome the bureaucrat’s fashion choices as netizens took to social media platforms to reflect their views.

“Such a sad and pathetic state we are witnessing,” said one user while reacting to Bangwar’s outfit.

However, there were those as well defended the the civil servant’s fashion choice.

“What’s the issue with expressing your fashion or art skills outside of work? Why are we critical of everything?” wrote Absa Komal while replying to Fawad’s criticism.

“Best wishes,” a social media user commented.

Another said that Bangwar’s gothic-inspired outfit reminded him of the renowned US television series Game of Thrones.

Meanwhile, some users defended his choice of fashion as something pertaining to his “personal life” and praised him for being a “professional and a great guy.”