Clerics ban music and gambling in KP’s Landi Kotal: report

Local clerics and tribal elders in Landi Kotal, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, have enforced a ban on music and gambling in the area.

According to Express Tribune report, a gathering of these clerics and elders, held in the Nalo Shaheed area, decided to prohibit locals, particularly those on picnics, from participating in activities that contradict Sharia law, such as playing music, gambling, or dancing.

The meeting was led by Maulana Muhibullah Haqqani, Syed Mehmood Ahmad Buneri, Maulana Ahmad Ahmad, Ishaq Buneri, and attended by Haji Ilyas Shinwari, Haji Zarmat Khan Shinwari from the Pakistan Peoples Party, as well as Malik Barat, Malik Makil, Malik Shah Jee Khoga Khel, Maulana Haider Ali, and Additional SHO Taimur Khan expressed police support for the decision.

This isn't the first instance of local clerics taking such actions. In September 2017, under the leadership of Syed Muhammad Ilyas Binori, clerics gathered at a religious seminary and confiscated musical instruments and television sets, which they then burned in front of a crowd to eliminate perceived anti-Islamic practices.

This event sparked public outcry on social media, with local residents demanding strict action against the clerics.

Following this incident, the head of the seminary issued a written statement, acknowledging it as a misunderstanding and pledging that such actions would not happen again.