Taliban in Nangarhar say they have seized and destroyed 657 musical instruments, which belonged to local residents.
In a statement released by the Taliban-run governor’s office In Nangrahar province, the Directorate for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice said the items were confiscated from residents across several districts and later incinerated.
Taliban said the destruction took place in the presence of representatives from the provincial administration, police command, intelligence directorate, and justice department. The statement claimed the move was undertaken to “protect public morality.”
According to a statement from the Taliban-run Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, the group claims to have destroyed more than 21,000 musical instruments across Afghanistan in recent months.
Human rights and cultural-freedom organisations have condemned the destruction of musical instruments as part of a broader assault on fundamental rights in Afghanistan.
The Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM) described the act as a “direct attack on the country’s musical traditions and the rights of Afghan citizens to express themselves through music,” calling the destruction “an assault on the spirit of freedom, creativity, and the vibrant cultural legacy of Afghanistan.”
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has underscored that since 2021 the Taliban in Kabul have imposed sweeping restrictions not only on women and girls, but on basic freedoms — including artistic and cultural expression — by enforcing rigid morality laws, conducting raids, detaining people for “infractions” such as playing music, and instilling pervasive fear among citizens.
