PESHAWAR: The elected local government (LG) representatives in Sheikhan village have banned music and dances during wedding festivities.
This was announced through loudspeakers in the village on Friday. People were asked to avoid these activities at all cost since LG representatives said they had concrete information shared by security forces that militants could target such gatherings.
The news sent a wave of panic across the village and three music and dancing programmes were cancelled in the village.
Unveiling facts
When contacted, district member Fazalullah told that they had made the announcements via loudspeakers from mosques but it was not done due to threats of attacks from militants.
Fazaullah said, “We wanted to stop the practice of musical evenings that are organised on the occasion of weddings and continue till quite late into the night.” He said youth participate in them with great zeal and fail to realise that they are not a healthy social activity at all.
The district member said the announcement served more than one purpose.
“First it reformed the large number of youth who participate in these gatherings and secondly, it prevented any attack that could happen since our village is located adjacent to Khyber Agency,” he explained.
Fazalullah said three musical gatherings and dancing programmes have been cancelled as a result of the announcement which shows the success of the undertaking.
He added while they had not received information from any inside sources, the message was sent out to help people realise the gravity of the situation.
When contacted, police said they had not received any intelligence warning that stated militants could attack musical programmes. A village elder Sheikh Akber Khan criticised the move, saying such announcements cause panic among people and deprive youth of healthy entertainment and holistic environment.
