The Punjab Home Department has banned stage actress Mahnoor for 15 days, reported on Wednesday. The 15-day ban was imposed on the actress for performing vulgar dance on the stage. Last month, the Home Department had decided to impose a ban on 18 dancers who perform obscene and vulgar acts in stage plays across Punjab. A crackdown against the theatre owners and actors/dancers promoting vulgarity and obscenity in the name of art and culture was launched after the Punjab Caretaker Information and Culture Minister Amir Mir ordered to impose a ban on them. The home department had sent show-cause notices to 14 more actresses performing in commercial theatres in Lahore after serving similar notices to nine actresses on 9 August. The actresses, who were issued show-cause notices on Aug 9, did not submit their replies within seven stipulated days.

On the instructions of the minister, the Punjab Arts Council wrote a letter to the Home Department to take action against Shama, Tamaseel, Mehfil, Naz, Sitara, and Al-Falah Theatres of Lahore and Friends and Marian Theatres of Sahiwal as their owners were the main culprits. The actresses who were issued show-cause notices included Shama Theatre’s Mehak Butt, Komal Chaudhry and Qismat Shahzadi; Tamaseel Theatre’s Nayab Khan, Sheela Chaudhry, Ayan Akhtar, and Sonu Butt; Mehfil Theatre’s Khushboo Khan; Naz Theatre’s Roshani Khan, Kajal Chaudhry and Sara Khan; Alfalah Theatre’s Mahnoor and Jia Butt as well as Sitara Theatre’s stage actress Tabassum Khan.

 
Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)