A powerful explosion ripped through a bazaar of a remote Pakistani town, bordering Afghanistan, damaging several music and video shops and two internet cafes. Pakistani security officials reporting to Kuwait News Agency said the explosion did not cause any human loss as it occurred late in the night.

Explosions targeting music shops are frequently reported in the tribal belt, still influenced by Taliban-time ban on music and movies. Supporters of Taliban, few in numbers, also from time to time distribute pamphlets warning shopkeepers of stop playing music and movies or a stiff action would be taken against them.

The ‘North West Frontier Province’ is bordering Afghanistan and is among the poorest provinces of Pakistan. In 2003, Daily Times reported how police in the province locked up singers who were performing in public, arrested musicians for “loitering” and ordered others to conceal their instruments.

Since coming to power in Pakistan's ‘North West Frontier Province’ in 2002, a powerful alliance of hardline Islamic parties named the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal has banned music in public transport in the province, barred government employees from attending music and dance functions, and burned TVs, videos, DVDs and other "immoral" material. They have also recently barred pictures of women on commercial billboards, and are presently stongly opposing that Indian Bollywood films should be allowed to be shown in Pakistan.

The professedly religious Islamist alliance considers music and dance “un-Islamic”.

Hotels are forbidden to hold concerts, soirees and fashion shows, and singers are reported to have uprooted and headed to more liberal cities like Lahore. However, despite the ban on playing music in public transport and places, many drivers listen to cassettes in their vehicles.