Taliban burn hundreds of musical instruments in Parwan and Laghman

The Taliban's Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice department in Parwan province announced it burned around 500 musical instruments collected over the past year from the provincial center and districts. Abdulmajid Hanafi, a Taliban enforcer in Parwan, said the items included harmoniums, tablas, tanbura, dafs, speakers and other equipment. He added that hundreds of other instruments had been burned in the province previously.

Taliban officials in Laghman province separately reported burning more than 100 musical instruments.

Afghanistan National Television, a Taliban-controlled outlet, reported Tuesday that the Parwan enforcers had gathered the instruments over the past year before destroying them.

The Taliban have banned music production and listening since returning to power in August 2021, deeming it forbidden under their interpretation of Islamic law. Over the past four years, dozens of people have been arrested for producing, broadcasting or listening to music, and thousands of instruments have been burned across the country. The group has warned hotel and wedding hall owners nationwide to prevent music at social events.

In response, the Afghan Youth Orchestra and National Institute of Music in exile condemned the burnings on Wednesday, calling them an explicit enmity against Afghan culture and an attempt to destroy the nation's cultural identity and artistic heritage. The groups stated that music has been an inseparable part of Afghan social and cultural life, fostering unity and transmitting values. They urged international cultural institutions not to remain silent.