KABUL, Jan 15: In an embarrassing setback for moderates in Afghanistan's US-backed government, authorities have reimposed a ban on women singing on state television just days after it was lifted.

The decision to restore the ban followed a protest from the Supreme Court, which is dominated by religious conservatives, officials said on Thursday. On Monday, Kabul Television featured old footage of Parasto, a well-known singer who now lives in the West, performing without a headscarf.

Officials said the move was in line with a newly approved constitution giving equal rights to women. But the Supreme Court wrote in protest to Information Minister Sayed Makhdoom Raheen saying the decision to lift the ban was in defiance of its rulings. "We were told to stop airing the songs on Wednesday evening and we did so," an official of Kabul TV said.

Raheen was seen as the key figure behind the lifting of the ban. "I have nothing to say about it now," he said when asked about its reimposition. Deputy Chief Justice Fazl Ahmad Manawi said the Supreme Court was "opposed to women singing and dancing as a whole" and added: "This is totally against the decisions of the Supreme Court and it has to be stopped."

The ban was justified, since the constitution stated clearly that no laws could be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of Islam, which did not allow for women singers, Mawani said on Thursday.

"If the songs are aired, that means the Information Ministry would be the first organ of the government to violate the constitution." The latest flip-flop is an embarrassment and a setback for moderates in President Hamid Karzai's government in their battle with religious conservatives opposed to liberalization.

The initial removal of the ban came weeks after the replacement of the conservative head of Kabul Radio and Television. Ghulam Hassan Hazrati succeeded Mohammad Ishaq, a key official in the Northern Alliance faction, which is mainly composed of mujahideen groups and forms the backbone of Karzai's government.-Reuters