THE TALIBAN WANTTO ENFORCE THE WAHHABI VERSION OFSHARIA

Which declares music as unislamic. Three popular singers were shot dead in 2009.

The killings and death threats have prompted many artists to attempt a shift to devotional music or give up their musical careers altogether. Ali Haider of ‘Purani Jeans’ fame made the transition from pop to devotional songs and qawwalis in 2009. Pop singer Junaid Jamshed, a sensation in Pakistan in the late 1980s and known to his fans as JJ, too gave up his musical career for “religious reasons”. Female Pashtun singers Shakeela Naz, Farzana and Farida Khan too have abruptly ended their careers.

A number of artists from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have sought political asylum in Europe and the US. In 2008, Haroon Bacha, 39, a prominent Pashtun singer from the province, fled his homeland. He now performs for the Pakistani-american community in New York.

Film shoots and music concerts have ground to a halt in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Taliban have destroyed as many as 600 music and CD shops in the area over the past five years. Authorities say they are doing all they can to encourage music. “We want to defeat terrorism through music and art. We have built a 600-seater Nishtar Hall for cultural activities,” Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa culture minister, told INDIA TODAY.

As if the situation in the restive frontier province wasn’t enough, music is dying in the heart of Pakistan. Lawmakers in Punjab province passed a controversial bill on January 24 , 2012, which imposed a ban on musical concerts in educational institutions. It’s no surprise that Pakistan has not produced a single new musical star since 2004.