Court blocks morality bill

PAKISTAN’S Supreme Court has blocked a Taliban-style bill passed by the Islamist-led government in a conservative province bordering Afghanistan.

Legislators in North West Frontier Province on November 13 voted to establish a moral policing system involving a cleric who would oversee adherence to Muslim values in public life.

The Supreme Court backed a petition filed by moderate President Pervez Musharraf “seeking an opinion as to the legality of the bill,” a court official said yesterday.