PESHAWAR, Sept 22: After the Nishtarabad CD Market bombing on Monday, local police have advised shopkeepers of the market against selling compact discs and digital video discs of ‘vulgar’ dances and dramas to prevent terrorist attacks by the Taliban.

Superintendent of Police, Peshawar (City Circle) Imtiaz Shah told Dawn on Thursday that police had asked CD Market traders not to spread vulgarity.

“We’ve done our duty by asking them against selling vulgar CDs and DVDs and if that doesn’t happen, the Taliban would continue creating problems for them,” the SP said.

Meanwhile, a CD shop owner said on condition of anonymity that some shopkeepers were dealing in CDs and DVDs of vulgar dances and dramas to the anger of the Taliban.

He said the CD Centre Owners’ Union had discussed the matter time and again but to no avail.

He, however, claimed after the Monday bombing, the union had decided to strictly crack down on such shopkeepers once the market was opened.

The shop owner said police had informed the union of possible attack by the Taliban a few months ago.

Owners of some grocery shops in the area also charged CD dealers of Nishtarabad Market with spreading vulgarity and demanded early relocation of their (latter’s) businesses for the safety of others.

Sabir Khan, whose general store was destroyed in the blast, said the people of the entire area were paying for the acts of the traders selling CDs of obscene material.

He said CD shops should be moved out of the market so that others in the area could do business without fear.

When contacted, President CD Centre Owners’ Union Sher Dil Khan urged the government to check the quality of movie, dance and drama CDs and DVDs through a censor board.

He said traders wouldn’t stop selling offensive and morally harmful compact discs on their own.

“As for me and other office-bearers of the union, we hate vulgarity like anything and have always advised traders against selling vulgar CDs and DVDs,” he said.

He, however, said the union had no authority to stop people from dealing in vulgar discs.

Sher Dil said the union office-bearers had several meetings with the relevant government officials but to no avail.

He said in the past, the provincial government declined to take corrective measures saying culture was a federal subject, but now after the decentralisation of the Culture Ministry, its inaction against the promoters of vulgarity was beyond comprehension.

The union president urged the government to realise its responsibility and proceed against those tarnishing the image of Pakhtuns and destroying Pakhtun culture.

The provincial information minister couldn’t be contacted by telephone despite repeated attempts.

Director Culture Department Pervez told Dawn that the province had to report any case of vulgarity to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, which hadn’t been devolved by the Centre.

He said the censor board oversaw cinemas not cable network exhibiting CD programmes.