8am: Local Taliban officials in Takhar have reported that five individuals have been arrested in the province for playing music. Nizamuddin Umair, the spokesperson for the Taliban’s provincial police command in Takhar, stated on Saturday, 21 June 2025, that these individuals are residents of Taloqan, the capital of Takhar. Click here to read more (external
Afghanistan International: According to local Taliban officials, at least 109 musical instruments were collected over the past several months from various celebratory gatherings and subsequently burned. On Monday, officials in Alingar released images showing the public incineration of the items, which included drums (daff), guitars, loudspeakers, and other musical equipment. Click here to read more
Amu: Taliban have dissolved the Afghan Film Organization, once the country’s only state-run film body, and closed its offices, according to four sources, including two familiar with the agency’s operations. No formal statement has been issued by the Taliban. However, staff have been informed that the institution’s structure has been nullified and its operations halted.
By RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal, Wasim Sajjad, Muhammad Zawar and Will Tizard April 19, 2025 When the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021, they quickly banned music, declaring it un-Islamic. Musicians faced threats, raids, and the destruction of their instruments. “Our homes were searched for what we had there,” says Faiz Muhammad Sakhki, an Afghan musician
Afghanistan International: Several Afghan opposition leaders used Nowruz to urge unity and resistance against the Taliban. They called for an end to “tyranny and oppression” and pledged to work towards a democratic and inclusive government. Abdul Rashid Dostum, former vice president and leader of the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, said in his Nowruz message
Khaama: The way Nowruz is celebrated varies across Afghanistan. In Mazar-e-Sharif, the “Jahenda Bala” ceremony and the Gul Surkh festival are popular, while in Herat, people often visit nature reserves and gardens. In Kabul, making ‘Samanak’ and preparing ‘Haft Mewa’ are notable traditions. Despite these regional differences, visiting friends, exchanging new year greetings, and wishing
Amu: On this day 24 years ago, the Taliban carried out one of the most infamous acts of cultural destruction in modern history, demolishing the ancient Buddhas of Bamiyan, two towering statues that had stood for centuries as symbols of Afghanistan’s rich Buddhist heritage. On March 11, 2001, Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar ordered the
AFP: Musicians play behind closed doors despite a ban on music in Afghanistan and a maker of stringed instrument the rubab refuses to down tools. Click here to read more (external link).
Amu: The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has inscribed the art of crafting and playing the rubab as an Intangible Cultural Heritage, recognizing Afghanistan and its neighbors Iran, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Rubab is one of the oldest musical instruments in Central, South, and Southwest Asia. Crafted from dried mulberry wood collected in deserts,
The Taliban announced in August that it had destroyed over 20,000 musical instruments in Afghanistan in the past year. The extremist group considers instruments un-Islamic and permits only unaccompanied singing. In interviews with RFE/RL, an exiled Afghan musician condemned the move, while the head of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music said, “Music was the