Sharia Law in Pakistan

A province of Pakistan is set to introduce Sharia law.

In recent weeks, Islamist youths have been tearing down billboards in the province that feature photographs of women and Western products. Musicians and dancers have been driven from the province as police enforce unofficial bans on music and performances...

One recently passed law in the province requires all civil servants to pray five times a day. Other recent legislation ... bans men from training or watching female athletes.

... the lack of opposition to the bill from the federal government ... belies a deeper political crisis in Pakistan... Musharraf may be attempting to gain backing from religious conservatives in the MMA for a series of controversial amendments to Pakistan's constitution [aimed at increasing his power over the country, and decreasing the power of the parliament]

Members of the Shi'ite Muslim minority in the NWFP also are concerned about their welfare under Sharia law in the Sunni-dominated province. Shi'ite community leader Allama Fakhrul Hassan Kararvi notes that while non-Muslims are exempt from the legislation, the present language of the Sharia Act is silent about the religious rights of Shi'ites.