August 22, 2007	Wednesday	Sha’aban 8, 1428

HANGU, Aug 21: The local Taliban have banned music and sale of narcotics in Zargari and some other areas here, officials and residents said on Tuesday.

Reports received here from the Naryab village said that the local Taliban shura had set a deadline for owners of CD and cassette shops and narcotic dealers to wind up their businesses and warned that their shops or houses would be destroyed if they did not heed the call.

District Police Officer Ghulam Mohammad Khan said the move would help eliminate the menace of narcotics and other illegal activities in the area. He said the shura’s activities were confined to Zargari and some other villages and would not spill over to other areas.

When contacted, Senator Mian Mohammad Hussain Hashmi, administrator of Jamia Uloom-i-Islamia, Zargari, said that students of his madressah were not involved in imposing the ban.

The shura said that the ban would be effective in Zargari, Shanawari, Chappari Naryab, Naryab and Kahi villages and some other areas. It announced violators will be fined Rs50,000.

Villagers said the shura’s warning was announced from mosques and the people were asked to desist from indulging in ‘un-Islamic’ activities.