All major and small business centres in the Bajaur Agency observed Friday as a holiday instead of Sunday after a call from local tribal militants, residents said. The call for observing Friday as a weekly holiday was given on Wednesday at a protest demonstration of pro-Taliban militants in Khar. “All shops in Khar, Inayat Kalay and Sadiqabad were closed on Friday,” locals told Daily Times. An official confirmed the closure of shops in Khar on Friday. The move, according to observers, is significant towards moving the region one step closer to what the Taliban perceive as “Islamic rule”.