Pakistan Court bans Valentine's Day celebrations

The Islamabad High Court on Monday imposed a ban on Valentine's Day celebrations in public places and government offices across Pakistan, The Dawn reports.

The Federal Ministry of Information, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) and the Islamabad High Commission have been told by Justice Shaukat Aziz, who was hearing the case, to submit their replies regarding the immediate execution of the court's orders.


Print and electronic media have also been warned to "stop all Valentine's Day promotions immediately", while Pemra has been ordered to monitor all mediums and send out notifications banning any related promotion.

The orders were given on a petition submitted by citizen Abdul Waheed, who maintained that promotions on mainstream and social media for Valentine's Day are "against Islamic teachings and should be banned immediately." 

The petition had further called for a ban on the celebration of Valentine's Day in public places, and had said, "in cover of spread of love in fact, immorality, nudity and indecency is being promoted which is against our rich culture."