Islamabad, Pakistan - The Pakistani Taliban in the troubled Khyber tribal region have warned authorities not to issue national identity cards to women, saying the practice is "un-Islamic".
Omar Farooq, the commander of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan in Khyber Agency, warned the National Database and Registration Authority that its offices would be attacked if it issued identity cards to women.
Farooq told reporters on phone from an unknown location that making identity cards for women went against Islamic rules. The Taliban will not allow women to obtain these cards, he said.
He also warned women that they would have to face the consequences if they went to NADRA offices to get themselves registered for the identity cards.
The Taliban in Swat valley of the North Western Frontier Province and parts of the restive tribal have banned girls' education and barred women from visiting markets unless they are accompanied by male relatives.