Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, a key ally in the United States-led war on terror, on Sunday said there was no room for 'talibanisation' in his country.
Islamists controlling Pakistan's conservative North West Frontier Province last week passed a bill to enforce sharia or Islamic law in their region, introducing a conservative criminal code that critics say is reminiscent of neighbouring Afghanistan's hardline Taliban regime.
Pakistan supported the United States in its drive to depose the Taliban in 2001, after the September 11 attacks on Washington and New York.
"In a changing international scenario, people should project and build Pakistan as a moderate, Islamic, and a democratic state," state-run Pakistan television quoted Musharraf as saying during a meeting with lawyers in the eastern city of Lahore.
The provincial government of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal alliance of the six hardline Islamic groups also plans to set up a department to promote religious observance.
The NWFP, which borders Afghanistan, has also seen restrictions on the sale of music and videos, destruction of posters featuring women and advertising Western products, and a complete ban on alcohol.
Musharraf also refused to budge on MMA demands that he roll back his constitutional amendments and he choose between politics and the military.
Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless military coup in October 1999, changed the constitution to give himself power to dismiss parliament and formalise a military role in politics.
Noisy protests by the MMA-led opposition over Musharraf's overriding powers have virtually paralysed Pakistan's parliament since last October's elections, when a military-backed civilian government took over from Musharraf's regime.