The Taliban’s Vice and Virtue department have set fire to musical instruments in Herat, Kabul and Bamyan provinces.
The Taliban state-owned media agency Bakhtar News quoted Azizul Rahman Mohajer, the head of the Vice and Virtue department in Herat province, as saying that playing and listening to music is forbidden and no one should promote it.
He warned the sellers of musical instruments would be dealt with seriously.
Mr. Mohajer said playing music is causing youth “misguidedness” and promoting “corruption” in society.
Mr. Mohajer made the statement while setting fire to the instruments that had been collected from Herat city.
On Monday, the members of Vice and Virtue department in the Draim district of Badakhshan province set up checkpoints to collect flash memory cards containing music from the drivers of public and private cars. They were warned not to listen to music nor transfer women without adhering to the clothing order.
After seizing power on August 15, 2021, the Taliban put a stop to music being broadcast on national TV channels. The group recently banned music in all restaurants and hotels.
With the overthrow of the Taliban by the US invasion in 2001, there was a growth of art, especially music. Many young people enjoyed singing and playing musical instruments. Now a number of Afghan singers and musicians have given up performing and have been forced to leave the country.
The Taliban previously implemented a ban on music in the 1990s.
