Afghan singer Latif Nangarhari said during a recent TikTok live broadcast that the Taliban system would last for fifty years while criticizing members of Afghanistan’s former republic government.
In the video reviewed and archived by The Afghan Times, Nangarhari addressed people affiliated with the former Afghan government, saying they had fled the country and adding:
“You are sons of Trump, you have fled, and I guarantee you the Taliban system will last fifty years.” The livestream was broadcast from Nangarhari’s TikTok account, which bears his name and image.
Nangarhari is an ethnic Pashtun singer from Jalalabad in Nangarhar Province who moved to the United Kingdom in 2001. He began releasing music in 2008 and gained popularity among Afghans at home and abroad.
In a 2009 profile by BBC News, Nangarhari described leaving Afghanistan during the Taliban era and losing family members. He told the BBC that his music carried a personal message against violence, saying, “Like everyone else, I left my country and lost family members, so I sing the song. I hate anyone who destroys or kills Afghans, so I urge those who are misled and carry out suicide attacks and kill school children, that this is not the time to pull the trigger.”
He added, “My message to them is not to kill children, their countrymen and don’t attack our cities and markets with bombs. These young people are misled.”
Nangarhari’s songs have often depicted Afghanistan’s violent past and present, aiming to encourage peace and discourage violence against civilians. At the time, his music was widely broadcast on Afghan radio and television and performed internationally, including concerts in Australia and Europe.
The BBC profile highlighted that Nangarhari became one of the most popular Afghan singers because his music combined cultural identity, poetry, and messages of peace during a period when entertainment and public music were restricted under the Taliban.
This recent TikTok live marks a notable shift in Nangarhari’s public statements, contrasting with his earlier emphasis on condemning violence and advocating for the protection of civilians.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban government has repeatedly signaled a strict ban on music, based on its interpretation of Islamic law. During a press briefing in Kabul shortly after taking control, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that “music is forbidden in Islam” and indicated that the authorities hoped to “persuade people not to do such things, instead of pressuring them.”
The group has enforced this stance through public directives and actions. Taliban morality enforcers, including the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, have instructed media outlets, taxi drivers and business owners to refrain from playing or broadcasting music, stating that religious scholars consider music “haram” (forbidden).
In some provinces, local Taliban officials have arrested people for playing music, reflecting on‑the‑ground enforcement of the prohibition.
Taliban policies have also led to cultural restrictions in broadcast media. In Badakhshan province, Taliban authorities closed a women‑run radio station after asserting that airing music violated the Islamic Emirate’s laws, with a provincial official saying, “We repeatedly told them that airing music is forbidden.”
Under the current regime, public spaces such as wedding halls, restaurants and vehicle interiors are generally expected to remain free of music, and musical instruments have been confiscated or destroyed in some areas under Taliban directives. Critics describe these measures as part of a broader cultural suppression tied to the group’s interpretation of religion and social norms.
