Saturday, May 26, 2012


News / From Our Bureaus

Taliban Thugs Raid Shops, Burn 'Un-Islamic' Clothing In Pakistan

Burqa-clad women at a market in eastern Pakistan (file photo)
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Burqa-clad women at a market in eastern Pakistan (file photo)
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Taliban militants broke into shops in western Pakistan and set fire to fabric for women's clothing that they said was un-Islamic because it did not properly cover the body, RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal reports.

They also warned locals against other actions that they deemed heretical.

Residents in the town of Wana, the capital of Pakistan's South Waziristan district, told RFE/RL that dozens of Taliban men took part in the raid of the local bazaar on July 27.

They confiscated "objectionable" pieces, piled them in the center of the market, and set them alight.

The witnesses asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution by the Taliban or their sympathizers.

Local journalist Hafeezullah Wazir told Radio Mashaal that shopkeepers later closed their shops to protest the heavy-handed raids and argued with the Taliban militants.

Wazir said the men "confiscated and burned thousands of meters of pieces of clothing."

They also reportedly warned shop owners against selling clothes that are "too transparent or don't cover a man's or woman's body."

Wazir said the marauders also imposed a ban on the use of mobile phones with cameras because they claimed such devices were used to watch pornographic photos and videos.

Radio Mashaal tried to talk to the shop owners whose wares had been destroyed, but they were afraid to allow their voices to be recorded.

Pakistan's army conducted an operation against Taliban insurgents in South Waziristan in October 2009. It said afterward that the Taliban had been expelled and the area was free of militants.
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Comments
     
by: Gordon B from: Canada
July 30, 2011 23:32
Are there no officers of the law in that town?

You don't simply break into clothing stores and trash any apparel, which doesn't suit your fancy. The usual procedure is to simply boycott the outfits that you don't like and in short order, the store will remove these from the shelves and replace them with something more palatable.

Next time this happens, call the police. And if the Taliban aren't fond of cellphones then by all means accommodate them and use a land line.
In Response

by: George from: USA
July 31, 2011 11:48
Are you kidding me, the guys are so whacked out, and so far from reality and criminal I mite add, that a ratinal thought like "boycott" does not even register in their 13th centery minds. taliban needs to be sent on to their maker, for judgment.

by: Bill Webb from: Phoenix AZ
July 31, 2011 00:06
It sounds like mob rule in an otherwise democractic country. The authorities are not battling the Taliban thugs, they are just moving them around.

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