PESHAWAR, Nov 5: The activists of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F) have seized posters and greeting cards depicting women’s pictures, particularly of Indian actresses, from shopkeepers in the walled-city markets during a campaign against obscenity here on Wednesday.

The JUI-F leaders also set Monday as the deadline for the police to seize all the women’s pictures from the markets. They warned that they will carry on the campaign themselves if they (police) failed to do so, eyewitnesses and sources told Dawn.

The JUI-F held a meeting on Wednesday morning at Karam Shah mosque in Qissakhwani bazaar and after the meeting they went on the campaign in the markets. They tore apart many posters displayed at several music centres and seized postcards and greeting cards depicting women’s pictures from the shops, they said.

The activists also removed film posters from the markets and streets walls, the witnesses said.

Later, the JUI-F zealots went to Ganj and Hashtnagri areas, where they repeated the same action in the name of removing obscenity from society.

The JUI-F leaders headed by Maulana Abdul Malik also met chief of Capital City Police Tanvir-ul-Haq Sipra and reminded him about the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government’s commitment to eliminate obscenity from society.

They gave the police until Monday to remove all the obscene pictures from the city and warned that they would do so themselves if the police failed.

About six months ago, three senior police officials were suspended on charges of failing to stop the activists of Shabab-i-Milli from ransacking the signboards in the city during the anti-obscenity drive.

Even the federal government transferred the NWFP chief secretary Shakil Durrani and sent IGP Saeed Khan home just before his retirement on the allegation of their failure to control the mob on that day.

Earlier, the JUI-F leaders criticized the police for not complying with the Frontier government’s orders and letting the people display woman’s posters in all the city markets.

At the meeting, according to the sources, they also expressed concern over the low quality of flour being supplied to the public as a special Ramazan package.

They said the flour mills in the province were intentionally providing substandard flour to the masses in their attempt to defame the government of religious parties alliance.

The leaders asked the authorities concerned to take stern action against the flour mills and force them to supply good-quality flour to the masses during Ramazan.

The meeting also demanded of the political administration of all the seven tribal regions to halt the smuggling of cattle to the neighbouring country Afghanistan. The mass-level smuggling had increased the meat prices throughout the country, particularly in Peshawar, the sources added.