Taliban burn musical instruments, insult artists in viral video
The undated video also shows that the Taliban forces had cut the musicians' hair, a common punishment for those suspected of minor crimes
A video showing Taliban forces insulting local artists and burning their musical instruments went viral in Afghanistan on Saturday.
The video is thought to have been recorded in the Zazai Aryoub district of Paktika province, a predominately Pashtun area in the eastern part of the country.
The video shows two musicians whose clothes are torn following a beating by Taliban forces, who insulted them publicly as other people looked on, laughing and filming the events.
The undated video also shows that the Taliban forces had cut the musicians' hair, a common punishment for those suspected of minor crimes.
Many Afghans have criticized the Taliban's policing of people and their lives, without concern for their dignity or culture.
“Taliban soldiers across Afghanistan are taking the law in their own hands,” prominent Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwari wrote on Twitter.
“The Taliban continue to violate the musical rights of Afghan people,” said Ahmad Sarmast.
'Barbaric attitude'
Sarmast founded the Afghanistan National Institute of Music but went into exile after the Taliban seized power, along with nearly 300 students, faculty members and relatives who were affiliated with the music school.
“This video documents the barbaric attitude of Taliban towards musicians and music in Afghanistan, where music is banned,” Sarmast said in a tweet.
Many Afghan musicians fled the country after the Taliban's takeover last year, fearing for their livelihoods and their lives, as the hardliners consider playing music to be un-Islamic.