{"id":6878,"date":"2017-02-13T16:11:40","date_gmt":"2017-02-13T16:11:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=6878"},"modified":"2017-02-13T16:11:40","modified_gmt":"2017-02-13T16:11:40","slug":"pakistan-high-court-bans-valentines-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/pakistan-high-court-bans-valentines-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan high court bans Valentine\u2019s Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Valentine\"A Pakistani court Monday banned public celebrations of Valentine\u2019s Day in the capital Islamabad, the latest attempt by authorities to outlaw a holiday seen by many in the traditional Muslim society as vulgar and Western.
\nThe Islamabad high court issued the order after a petitioner declared love was being used as a \u201ccover\u201d to spread \u201cimmorality, nudity and indecency… which is against our rich traditions and values.\u201d
\nThe ruling, seen by AFP and greeted with approval by Islamist parties, also called for the electronic and print media to stop promoting Valentine\u2019s Day.
\nSome restaurants in Islamabad continued to send out text messages advertising Valentine\u2019s Day promotions even after the ban was announced.
\nHowever preparations appeared muted in more conservative areas such as Peshawar, capital of northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, where only a handful of shops were selling Valentine\u2019s Day-themed goods.
\nThe annual occasion is increasingly popular among young Pakistanis, many of whom seize the chance to celebrate romance by giving cards, chocolates and gifts to their sweethearts.
\nBut the country remains deeply conservative, and many disapprove of the holiday as an indecent Western import.
\nLast year, Pakistan president Mamnoon Hussain had urged the nation to refrain from celebrating Valentine\u2019s Day, saying it had no place in the Muslim-majority nation. Other officials blasted it as \u201cvulgar and indecent.\u201d – AFP<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\r\n