PFF refuse to condemn tonsures

The Taliban had earlier decreed that men could wear only shalwars baggy trousers when playing football. The game, which has a passionate following in Afghanistan, was reluctantly allowed by the Taliban, alongwith male wrestling, after most sport activities were banned for being a waste of time.

But the Pakistani guests of the Taliban had a rude shock when they played their friendly match in Kandahar. 8220;All of a sudden, the Taliban soldiers raided the Kandhar stadium and arrested the players of the Pakistani Junior soccer team while the game was in progress,8221; Abdul Qayuum, captain of the young Afghan Club, Chaman Pakistan told a Pakistani newspaper.

He was leading a 17-member team on an official invitation to play friendly matches with the local teams in Kandahar. 8220;Only five Pak players were able to escape while the rest were rounded up and their heads were shaven off as a punishment for wearing shorts,8221; Qayuum said. He said the players were released on Sunday last and were deported to Pakistan.

He alleged that local players who were also wearing the same dress shorts were not punished.

The Pakistani players who escaped sought refuge in the local Pakistani consulate. But the Pakistan Football Federation said that it would not condemn the incident since the punishment was 8220;not that severe8221; and that the match was not an official engagement between the two countries.

Earlier, Afghanistan hit the sports headlines when it did not allow their boxing team to shave their beards 8211; as it is a crime to shave one8217;s beard in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The boxers were automatically disqualified from their Asian Boxing engagements.