Militants killing laughter and music in Pakistan region

By Zeeshan Haider

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani comedian Alamzeb Mujahid had bad news for his fans after being freed by Islamist militants who kidnapped him in Peshawar city last month.

"I''m retiring from showbiz," Mujahid, whose stage name is Janaan, told a news conference without going into details about either the kidnapping or his reasons for quitting the stage.

Friends and colleagues were less circumspect.

They say Mujahid, an ethnic Pashtun, was kidnapped by Islamist vigilantes hell-bent on imposing Taliban-style values in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), a volatile region bordering Afghanistan.

A veteran of hundreds of theater and television plays, the slim, clean shaven 38-year-old actor has begun growing a beard for his life after comedy.

Reluctant to speak about his life-changing experience, Mujahid told Reuters he was joining Tablighi Jamaat, a Muslim missionary group, to preach religion.

"God has fed me before and will continue to feed me now," he said solemnly.

Mujahid was lucky.

Others who have fallen foul of militant morality squads, didn''t get a second chance.

Catalog OF MURDER

In January, a woman dancer, Shabana, was dragged onto the street and shot in the center of Mingora, a town in Swat, a valley about 130 km (80 miles) north of the capital Islamabad where militants are virtually in complete control.

Gunmen tried to kill Pashtun singer Sardar Yousafzai in Dir district as he returned home after performing at a wedding party in December. He escaped but his harmonium player, Anwar Gul, was killed and four other people were wounded in the attack.

The climate for anyone associated with the entertainment industry in the region turned hostile after Islamist parties rode to power in NWFP on a wave of anti-American sentiment following the U.S.-led invasion of neighboring Afghanistan in late 2001.

The disapproving Islamist parties banned music on public transport and had movie posters featuring women torn down.

Militants went a lot further.  Continued...