Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: The recent past has not been kind to Afghanistan’s pre-Islamic heritage. Will history repeat itself under the new Taliban government? Just months before the Taliban was ousted from power in 2001, the hard-line Islamist group took a wrecking ball to Afghanistan’s pre-Islamic history. That spring, the Bamiyan Buddhas that had stood
Khaama: Taliban have banned the celebration of the Afghan festive Nowruz in the central Daikundi province, warning residents if they are caught celebrating the occasion, they will be treated accordingly. Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in an announcement said the group’s regulators have told people “Islam prohibits the
AFP: ‘When Taliban reached the gates of Kabul, it was clear that we should get out,’ recalled Anim director Ahmad Sarmast, who did everything possible to evacuate the students and staff of the music institute. ‘Afghanistan is a silent nation,’ the 61-year-old said. ‘When a country’s music is banned, an entire nation is silenced,’ added
RFE/RL: March 11 marks the anniversary of the destruction of Bamiyan’s sixth-century Buddha statues by the Taliban in 2001. According to experts, encroaching construction, negligence, and looting are endangering the status and future of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Click here to view photos (external link).
Ariana: The directorate of information and culture in Ghor says it has inaugurated a local museum in the province and showcased almost 170 artifacts at this new museum in Firozkoh city, the capital of the province. According to the directorate, most of these artifacts are related to the period of Ghaznavid and the sultans of
The Art Newspaper: A show at the University of California, Berkeley showcases works by artists from Afghanistan and the Afghan diaspora reflecting on the events of August 2021 and what has occurred since. Click here to read more (external link).
El Pais: With the return of the Taliban regime to power – following the chaotic American withdrawal in the summer of 2021 – many archaeologists fear a return to the days of the Taliban’s iconoclastic fury. The Taliban are also known to use the lucrative antiquities trade to finance their crimes. Click here to read
Al Jazeera: Sayed Muhammad Hussainy says it is his duty to help strengthen the voices of women living under the Taliban’s rule. When the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, thousands of Afghans fled the country fearing curbs on freedoms. Cartoonist Sayed Muhammad Hussainy was one of them. The 29-year-old artist, who has taken
ANI: Pakistani agents are robbing Afghanistan of its cultural heritage by smuggling ancient idols and other artifacts from the war-torn country, reported the Afghan Diaspora Network. The smuggling is done by a global racket of smugglers who are facilitated by local Afghan officials. Major support to the crime is provided by actors working from the
8am: Sources on Tuesday, September 20, speaking to Hasht-e Subh said that in a new move, the Taliban group removed the Persian signs of the departments of management, publications, information technology, procurement management, and several other departments and replaced them with Pashto and English signs. This is while 90% of the visitors to government offices