Above image by Radiokafka / Shutterstock.com

At least 10 people have been confirmed dead and 16 were wounded when unidentified men hurled grenades into the auditorium of the Shama cinema in the north-western town of Peshwar in Pakistan.

The cinema showed popular Bollywood hits, movies made in Pakistan’s film capital of Lahore, as well as porn films from western countries and dubbed poorly into the local Pashtu language.

Pakistani Porn Cinema Targeted by Terrorists

Peshawar police chief Ijaz Khan said no one has as of yet come forward to claim responsibility for the attack, which was carried out in the afternoon during a screening of Yarama (Friendship) on February 11, 2014.

“Terrorists threw three Chinese-made hand grenades into the cinema hall at 3:40pm when the show was in progress,” Khan said.

Cinemas in the city have been under siege from extremists in recent years who have threatened to make examples of any business deemed to promote decadent western values, including CD shops and barbers, who have been warned not to shave beards or cut hair too short.

Aslam Khan, a shopkeeper, was watching Yarama when the terrorist struck. His back was badly injured.

“I was watching the film when three back-to-back blasts occurred. After that everyone was crying. Many of the injured were hurt in the stampede as people were running for safety,” Khan said.

Just weeks before the deadly explosions at Shama cinema, an employee told the Telegraph of fears of militant attacks, especially after two other cinemas had been forced to stop showing “sexy movies” under pressure from Taliban extremists.

Pakistani Porn Cinema Targeted by Terrorists

“Business used to be better,” he said. “These days we have problems because of threats. People are afraid to come.”

This latest attack comes less than a week after another attack at the Picture House cinema that killed four people and wounded several others. Police say they have urged cinemas to install CCTV cameras but none have complied.

Only a handful of cinemas remain in the town. Two were completely destroyed in 2012 during protests against YouTube trailers for an independent film about the life of the Prophet Mohammed. Of the last nine, three are set to become shopping centers.

Even though the first peace talks with the Taliban are under way, there’s little hope they will lead to anything tentative. Meanwhile, the conservative extremists make sure to threaten and target businesses.

Leaflets distributed early 2014 to mobile phone shops ordered an immediate end to sales of ringtones and video clips.

“Your markets have become centers of shamelessness… Our mission is to stop this shameless business and if you do not stop yourself then we will make an example out of you and your market,” it said.

One Comment

  1. It’s a shame some people are still living in the 12th century.