Islamist extremists kidnap Pakistani father and threaten to kill him because he refuses to shave off his 30-inch moustache (…talk about a close shave!)

A Pakistani father has told how he faces death threats and has been driven into hiding - because of his 30ins moustache.
Islamist extremists were so infuriated by Malik Amir Mohammad Khan Afridi's facial hair they kidnapped the businessman and held him in a cave for a month until he shaved.
But despite his clash with the militants over his prized whiskers - said to signify virility and prosperity - the father-of-ten, from Peshawar, Pakistan, has now grown it back, vowing never to be bowed by the thugs again.

Target: Mr Afridi has vowed not to remove his cherished moustache - despite death threats and kidnapping by Islamic extremists

Mr Afridi said: 'I don’t like smoking. I’m not fond of snuff, or drinking. This is the only choice in my life. I’d even sacrifice food, but not the moustache. It’s my life. It’s not part of my life. It is my life.

People give me a lot of respect. It’s my identity.'The moustache has been a passion of Mr Afridi's since he started growing it aged 22.
He now spends 30 minutes a day caressing and trimming the moustache. The costs of coconut oil and soap used to maintain it comes to an eye-watering £100 a month.

But despite the cost, the death threats, the constant fear of attack and having to spend long periods away from his family, it is all worth it, he insists.

'I feel happy. When it’s ordinary, no one gives me any attention. I got used to all the attention and I like it a lot.'

Danger: The father-of-ten, 48, could now seek asylum to get away from the dangers posed by extremists opposed to his facial hair

Pride in his appearance: Mr Afridi, pictured visiting a barber shop in Peshawar, Pakistan, spends 30minutes a day tending to his flowing moustache

But Mr Afridi came to the attention of militant group Lashkar-e-Islam, which controlled swathes of the Kyber district of Parkistan, near the border with Afghanistan.
The group was was trying to enforce a strict decree that moustaches and beards must be shaved or trimmed short.
When he refused to pay protection money to the group, he was held prisoner in a cave until he shaved.

Having just escaped with his life, Mr Afridi began regrowing his moustache in what he thought was the relative safe haven city of Peshawar. But he began receiving threats again last year.
He has now been forced to leave his family for long periods of time and move south to Faisalabad where he feels safer.

Close shave: Mr Afridi was held in a cave for a month by militants who demanded he shave

Mr Afridi hopes his moustache could be a ticket for him and his family to flee the persecution.
He told The Independent: 'I want to live, that is why I want to get out of Pakistan.
'My first choice would be an Islamic country such as Dubai.

'But I also willing to go to countries such as the US, Canada or Britain. I would like to appeal to the British government to help me.'

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