Roses and chocolates won’t be red-hot sellers in Pakistan – where a court has banned Valentine’s Day.
The Islamabad High Court on Monday imposed the order during a hearing of a petition arguing that the lovey-dovey day is not part of the Muslim tradition, The Express Tribune reported.
Electronic and print media also have been ordered not to cover or promote the day celebrating love.
Last year, President Mamnoon Hussain urged the country not to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
“Valentine’s Day has no connection with our culture and it should be avoided,” the president told students at the time.
The city of Peshawar then passed a resolution banning people from observing the day.
“The Valentine Day has no place in our tradition and values,” the city’s resolution read last year, when officials branded it as “vulgar and indecent.”
Meanwhile in Indonesia, Muslim students staged a protest Monday against Valentine’s Day, condemning what they described as a Western celebration that encourages casual sex, The Daily Mail reported.
“Say no to Valentine!” chanted the 13-to-15-year-olds in the city of Surabaya.
“This protest was organized as we have seen on television that Valentine’s Day tends to be associated with free sex,” said organizer Pandu Satria. “That makes us afraid.”
School headmaster Ida Indahwati Waliulu added: “There is a certain pride about this positive action carried out by the students.”
In 2015, the country’s top Islamic clerical body threatened to issue a fatwa against the sale of condoms, which were reportedly being sold together with chocolate.
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