PESHAWAR, 27 September 2006 — A Pakistani province ruled by the religious grouping Muttaheda Majlis-e-Amal has ordered all cinema houses to close down during the month of Ramadan, the government said yesterday.
The government of North West Frontier Province has taken the decision as “a mark of respect” to the fasting month of Ramadan, an official statement said.
“The government has to ensure religious values in the society and fulfill aspirations of the people in this regard,” it said quoting senior minister Sirajul Haq.
Some 10 cinema houses in the provincial capital Peshawar and around a dozen elsewhere in the region bordering Afghanistan, would be affected by the ban.
Haq said that the government would give one-month tax exemption to the cinema owners. It is the first time that cinema houses have been closed during Ramadan. Earlier, movie theaters were closed during the first ten days of Muharram.
An official statement claimed the cinema owners agreed to shut down their businesses voluntarily but newspaper reports said their response was to the contrary. Islamabad’s Daily Times said the cinema owners refused to comply with the order.
“We told the provincial government the demand is unnecessary,” one cinema owner told the newspaper, arguing that his business did not interfere with prayers.
“We were forced to close down cinema houses,” another owner was quoted by the daily Dawn as saying.
The Nation published a photograph of a shuttered cinema house in Peshawar but reported that the cinema owners were annoyed by the government order.
MMA lawmakers had been pushing for a ban not only on cinemas, but on private cable television networks and music broadcasts over radio during Ramadan.
