Pakistani militants issue moral code in tribal area: witnesses
KHAR, Pakistan (AFP) — Pro-Taliban militants in a Pakistani tribal district have warned residents not to put musical ring tones or pictures in their mobile phones, witnesses said Wednesday.
A pamphlet distributed in Khar, the main town of Bajaur district bordering Afghanistan, also told people not to shave their beards, listen to music or smoke cigarettes and hashish.
Islamic militancy is spreading in conservative northwest Pakistan, where militants -- emulating the ultra-orthodox Taliban who ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 -- are trying to impose their own strict brand of Islam.
Bajaur is one of seven semi-autonomous tribal regions in the area. In the past militants have blown up music shops and hair salons and plucked stereos from vehicles.
The pamphlet, handwritten in Pashto language, also forbade tribesmen from leaving their homes without caps or to carry weapons without permission from the militants.
Bajaur is a known Al-Qaeda and Taliban hideout. Many tribesmen sympathise with militants across the border in Afghanistan and are pushing for a Taliban-style system of governance in the rugged region.
