PESHAWAR, May 23: Activists of the Shabab-i-Milli, a youth wing of the Jamaat-i-Islami, on Friday launched a self-styled “anti-obscenity operation” and tore down more than 50 signboards bearing pictures of women between the Gulbahar Chowk and Hayatabad intersection.

Surprisingly, the overzealous youth also tore down many signboards which were not sporting any such “obscene” picture.

They threatened the provincial government to broaden the scope of their campaign against obscenity if it did not order immediate removal of signboards, posters, and billboards carrying pictures of women in Peshawar.

Around 150 activists had gathered at the local office of the Shabab-i-Milli organisation in Hashtnagri, where its district general secretary, Maulana Masih Gul, addressed the participants before launching the campaign against what he called obscenity in the city.

Interestingly, the police did nothing to stop the Shabab-i- Milli activists from ransacking the public property, including cable networks, and electricity wires attached to many of the signboards.

In the meantime, the Peshawar city district government on Friday sought the intervention of the NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani, after a group of traders met with the city district Nazim, Azam Afridi, and complained about the mutilation of signboards and the police’s inaction in this regard.

Traders urged the administration to bolster security to protect public property and promote trade activity in the province.

Talking to Dawn, Peshawar district Nazim Azam Afridi offered apologies to local traders and advertisers besides condemning the youth’s action, saying that the move was illegal and against the Constitution. He also expressed fears about reduction in the revenue of the district government as a considerable part of its revenue was derived on charges levied on hoardings.

Referring to the police’s inaction, he said that he had refrained from issuing order to restrain the overzealous activists to avoid confrontation with the provincial government.

He said that the issue had been brought to the notice of the NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani, representing the JUI-F, and senior provincial minister Sirajul Haq of the JI as well as other senior leaders of the Jamaat, adding that the issue would be discussed in a meeting convened by the NWFP Chief Minister on Saturday.