'Stylish' beards banned in Balochistan's Kharan District

Assistant commissioner says the order was issued on the complaint of a Maulana in the area

QUETTA: Authorities in Balochistan's Kharan District have prohibited 'stylish' beards in a recent order warning barbers of a heavy fine and then verbally through the area's magistrate after rescinding it.

“All barbers are restricted from cutting beards in a fashionable way which is against the principles of Islam according to all religious scholars,” read an order issued by the office of the Kharan District Assistant Commissioner Mohammad Baksh Sajdi on May 29.





The official in his order told hairdressers to abide by the newly set rule or face a heavy fine. “Keep the beards simple. Don’t design them. All barbers must note,” the order read.

A copy of the order was also sent to other officers concerned including the deputy commissioner, the district police officer, the tehsildar and area’s station house officer.

“A maulana in the area had complained about stylish beards and that's why the notification was issued," assistant commissioner Sajdi told The Express Tribune.

He added that the order was later withdrawn as the government said there was no law to issue such an order.

"However, the magistrate has the authority to ban anything, so he summoned the barbers and verbally ordered them to avoid stylish beard cuts."

On Friday, Sajdi was transferred from Kharan to Washuk.

Recently, the authorities in Ormara, Balochistan too had imposed a ban on stylish beards.

Such bans are similar to the one imposed by the terrorist outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in the country's tribal areas before the military had launched an operation against it.