Society Girl: A Tale of Sex, Lies, and Scandal

Saba Imtiaz & Tooba Masood-Khan

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On an October morning in 1970, phones began ringing all over Karachi. The charismatic young poet and former civil servant Mustafa Zaidi had been found dead in his bedroom. He wasn’t alone: Shahnaz Gul, a stunningly beautiful, married socialite, with whom Zaidi had been having an affair, was lying unconscious in the next room, seemingly drugged.

The ensuing scandal would shake Pakistani society, becoming a fixture on the front pages of newspapers even as the country went from one cataclysmic event to another. It grew to include obsession, revenge porn, the involvement of influential politicians and businessmen, and even a smuggling ring. But two autopsies, several investigations, and one trial later – no one was able to answer what exactly happened in that bedroom, and how Mustafa Zaidi ended up dead.

Over fifty years later, authors Saba Imtiaz and Tooba Masood-Khan attempt to answer this question in Society Girl. Their retelling of, and years-long investigation into this story of twisted motives and murderous intentions, of it-girls and playboys, of class and culture, and a press out for blood and salaciousness, led to a far more complex tale than anyone could have possibly imagined.

Saba Imtiaz is a freelance writer and researcher. She is the author of the novel Karachi, You’re Killing Me!, which was adapted into the Indian film Noor (2017), starring Sonakshi Sinha. Saba writes about culture, food, religion, and urban life, and has reported features from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Jordan, and Lebanon. She was raised in Karachi, and has worked as a full-time reporter, a stringer, fixer, translator, TV show host, radio jockey, and scriptwriter. Her work has appeared in the Guardian, Marie Claire, and on the BBC. She is the co-host and co-producer of the ‘Notes on a Scandal’ podcast. Saba lives in the Netherlands. Her work can be found at: sabaimtiaz.com

Tooba Masood is a communications specialist and freelance journalist based in Karachi, Pakistan. She has worked at news media organizations in Pakistan for over thirteen years. Her reporting has been featured on the BBC, fiftytwo, NPR, Dawn, HuffPost India, and Samaa. She has also worked with Al Jazeera, LA Times, and Aks Films. Her writing ranges from covering the elections, documenting Karachi’s history and building regulations, to longform work on sexual harassment at the workplace, and writing about women’s health in the country. She was short-listed for the Zeenat Haroon Rashid writing prize in 2020.

Publisher
Roli Books
ISBN
9788193984697
Binding
Paperback
Page Extent
352
Weight (kg)
0.5
Height (in)
21.59
Width (in)
13.97
Subject
Non-Fiction , Crime
Published Date
15 / 10 / 2024

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A
Ambica Gulati
Saga of an obsessive lover

Murders are movie material, but true crime reminds us of the frailty of human existence, the shortcomings and failings of evolution. A saga of obsession, betrayal, glamour, and intrigue, this true crime story delves into the unresolved murder of a poet and his unrequited, forbidden love.
Media and family unrelenting, the evidence of sex, extra-marital affair and murder rocked the conservative society. Under the dark clouds of suspicion and outrage, Shahnaz Gul was tried for murder. From an innocent victim to an alleged murderer, the slander changed her life. Fifty years later, journalists Saba Imtiaz & Tooba Masood-Khan dive into the historical records in search of truth. Five years of research and the result is Society Girl: A Tale of Sex, Lies and Scandal.
The authors have captured the high society of Karachi well in the book. It's extensive research and interviews with authentic sources that have led to the book. It's a sad tale of human condition, obsessive tendencies and the need to feed off another person's misfortune. The book, full of scandals, gossip, glamour and intrigue, is for those interested in reading true crimes and unresolved mysteries. It is also a chronicle of political, social and cultural milieu of the 1950s-70s.

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