Street artists first appeared a few years ago at busy intersections in Islamabad. Covered from head to toe in gold paint, they stood perfectly still, leaning on shiny canes and spreading their top hats. Some smiled or nodded slowly as they received tips from passersby.
Perhaps in another place the pampering would go unnoticed. But in Pakistan, things under the security state are often not as simple as they seem. So as the number of golden artists grew, so did the intrigue around them. Could they be informants from the country’s intelligence agency? Watchers for powerful politicians? Spies for the CIA?
“In any other country, if you see a beggar, it is clear that he is a beggar,” said Habib Kareem, 26, a lawyer in Islamabad, the capital. “But here you see a beggar and you think: ‘Work for them‘” he added, referring to Pakistan’s powerful intelligence services.
In Pakistan, where the hand of the security services is seen everywhere, conspiracy theories have been around for decades. Now, the “golden men” have become another conspiracy theory.
Suspicion has become so common that wild tales take root after almost every news event. In 2010, people claimed that catastrophic flooding had been caused by CIA weather-monitoring technology. The media also claimed that an American “think tank” was behind the failed car bombing by a Pakistani American in New York’s Times Square that year.
Aqsa Batool, 24, who was sitting at an outdoor cafe in Islamabad, said she was wary of the golden men but was not sure if they worked for an intelligence agency, such as the main spy service – ISI. Interservice Intelligence. For one thing, street performers couldn’t eavesdrop while standing at a busy intersection, she mused. But they could monitor passing cars.
As with many conspiracy theories, the suspicions arose from grains of truth. In Pakistan, intelligence agents occasionally follow persons of interest, sometimes openly (and sometimes even offer a friendly wave from their cars). Rideshare drivers sometimes admit that they are paid by intelligence services.
One of the golden men, Mustaq Ahmed, 53, once sold umbrellas on the side of the road, but became a mime three years ago after hearing another golden man say he earned up to 8,000 Pakistani rupees — almost $30. diaries. It was more than five times what Ahmed earned.
That money has declined recently as the novelty of golden men has waned, he said. When asked if he would ever supplement his income with a small additional assignment for intelligence agencies, he immediately responded: “No, no, no.”
Was there any chance other golden men could make a few extra bucks like this?
“Maybe,” he said with a shrug. “It’s Pakistan.”
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