Islamic extremists blow up music, video shops in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Suspected local Taliban blew up four music and video shops in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province as part of their terror campaign to impose strict Islamic law in the tribal area bordering Afghanistan.

Several other shops were also partially damaged when the blast occurred late night in Charsadda, some 35 km from Peshawar, the provincial capital, police said on Thursday.

A police officer said that an abandoned explosive-laden motorcycle was also seized from the site.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack.

It is the second attack on music CD shops in Charsadda in a week. A music CD market was also targeted last month in the same area.

Owners say that they had received threats from the local Taliban to stop business of music CDs as they claim that it is un-Islamic.

Local journalists claimed that unidentified men had sent a letter to Christians in the area to covert to Islam within 10 days or quit the area.

Girl schools, barber and music CD shops in tribal areas in NWFP are receiving threatening letters for some time.

The ruling Islamist alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal allege that federal government agencies were behind the threatening letters to defame it.

However, the federal government has charged the NWFP government with failing to check what it calls Talibanisation of the province.

Charsadda was rocked by a suicide bombing at a rally last month in which Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao was injured and nearly 30 people were killed.