Pro-Taliban militants have resurfaced in areas on the outskirts of the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar and are trying to enforce their writ through actions such as a ban on shaving beards. The militants have resumed their activities in Sheikhan area,a suburb of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa capital Peshawar located near the restive Khyber tribal region. Local residents said all barbers in the area had closed down their shops after the terrorists kidnapped one of them,the Daily Times newspaper reported on Sunday. Terrorists kidnapped barber Ali Asghar two weeks ago. They released him only three days ago,with a warning that he would be killed if he restarted shaving beards in his shop," said Muhammad Nasir,another barber in the area. Nasir said all barbers in the area had now stopped shaving beards as the terrorists had threatened them with dire consequences for violating the ban. After military operations in Bara area of Khyber tribal agency,militants had disappeared from Sheikhan and life had returned to normal. However,the militants have again started challenging the government's writ in the area by taking advantage of the lax security situation in the wake of devastating floods. Before the military operations in Bara and its adjoining areas,pro-Taliban militants had imposed restrictions on barbers and fines on women who left their homes without any male relatives.
