Summary Protesters say govt must prevent such gatherings, otherwise they will stop in their own way.
PESHAWAR (AFP) - Supporters of religious party staged a noisy protest against Valentine s Day on Tuesday, denouncing it as un-Islamic and calling for a "day of modesty" instead.
The student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami rallied outside the Peshawar Press Club, chanting slogans against the Valentine s Day, saying it had spread immodesty in the world.
Valentine s Day is popular among younger Pakistanis, many of whom have taken up the custom of giving cards, chocolates and gifts to their sweethearts to celebrate the occasion.
But Pakistan remains a deeply traditional Muslim society where many disapprove of Valentine s Day as a Western import.
The demonstrators, who carried a banner urging February 14 to be a "day of modesty", said the tradition encouraged unmarried men and women to live together in sin.
"We will not allow holding of any Valentine s Day function," Shahzad Ahmed, the local head of the student organisation, said.
"The law enforcing agencies must prevent such gatherings, otherwise we will stop in our own way."
