Uproar after police stop music event in Peshawar

PESHAWAR:

The closure and raiding of a music pogramme of wellknown Pashto singer Kiran Khan by police in Peshawar has resulted in a public outcry on social media platforms. Police on Friday night raided and stopped the music event of Kiran Khan on the outskirts of the city after local clerics and elders complained that the gathering had been arranged on the occasion of Shab-e-Barat when people were busy in prayers in mosques and homes.

They threatened to stop it by force if police didn’t intervene on which a police party raided the hujra where the pogramme had been arranged. Local residents said that police kicked the musical instruments and threatened the singer as well as other musicians.

The singer and musicians were taken to police stations and later released. On Sunday Peshawar police issued a press release, stating that the students of a nearby religious seminary were highly enraged due to the loud music and the Pishtakhara Eslahi Committee also complained to the local SHO after which he had no option but to stop the event.

“A few armed men were also taken into custody by police on the charges of displaying weapons. Musicians and the singer were allowed to go from the police station,” it adds. Police denied the charges that they were involved in stealing of instruments from the event and blamed that a social media campaign had been launched against police.

An inquiry committee has been formed under ASP Hayatabad to probe the incident and investigate the theft of instruments and other goods. Awami National Party (ANP) leader Aimal Wali Khan also condemned the high-handedness on the part of police and demanded an inquiry into the matter. He blamed that police played the role of militants who also stopped music by force in the past. “I contacted Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) and asked him to take notice of the situation,” he said on his social media page.