SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2002
42 held in Pak under anti-obscenity drive
AFP
ISLAMABAD: Dozens of partygoers were detained and fined in a crackdown to curb un-Islamic practices in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP), now ruled by a far-right religious alliance, officials said on Saturday.
"We picked up 42 offenders at the start of a tough campaign on Friday, but they were released after paying a fine," Noshera district police chief Feroz Shah said.
The men were penalised for the party they hosted that featured three female dancers, performing "in violation of a ban on such activities," he said.
The 42 men and three women were fined 500 rupees (around eight dollars) each and released with a stern warning, the officer said.
The two-week-old provincial government issued "strict" directives to the police to implement an existing ban on liquor and gambling as well as entertainment such as dancing at social functions.
The practice of playing recorded music on public transportation has also been banned in NWFP.
Similar operations were underway in other districts but the number of violators detained was not immediately available, said a senior police officer in the provincial capital of Peshawar.
The alliance known as Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) made huge gains in October 10 polls in the region bordering Afghanistan, seizing power in both NWFP and Baluchistan.
One of MMA's primary stated aims is to implement Islamic Sharia law throughout the country of 145 million people, 97 percent of whom are Muslim.
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