The Islamabad High Court in Pakistan’s capital ordered a ban on celebrating Valentine’s Day across the country ‘with immediate effect’ after a petition was submitted by a citizen called Abdul Waheed claiming that ongoing promotions of Valentine’s Day were “against the teachings of Islam and should be banned immediately.”
The petition argued that the festival promoted immorality, nudity and indecency under the cover of spreading love.
The court order banned all Valentines adverts displayed on electronic and print media, also prohibited selling merchandise associated with Valentine’s Day and banned all people from celebrating the Day in “any public space or government building.”
In 2016, the local government in the city of Peshawar in the country’s Northern Province of Khyber Pakhtunkhua also banned Valentines celebrations.
Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain, made a statement in February 2016, asking Pakistan’s not to celebrate the day since it was “not a part of Muslim tradition, but of the West.”
