Taliban authorities have arrested 14 individuals in northern Afghanistan for playing musical instruments and singing, activities that have been increasingly restricted under their regime, provincial police confirmed on Saturday.
The arrests took place on Thursday night in the capital of Takhar province, where the group gathered in a residential home to engage in music.
According to a police statement, the individuals were performing songs and playing instruments, which they claimed caused public disturbance.
The police noted that the detainees are currently under investigation for violating the Taliban’s strict regulations on music.
Under Taliban rule since 2021, music has been banned in public, including live performances, gatherings, restaurants, cars, and on radio or TV.
Since taking control, the Taliban has imposed an array of laws grounded in their interpretation of Islamic law, including restrictions on artistic expression.
In one of their most significant moves, they shut down music schools, destroyed musical instruments, and banned sound systems, claiming that music contributed to “moral corruption” and public disorder.
Wedding halls have also been prohibited from playing music, although reports suggest that some segregated women’s sections continue to play music in secret.
The crackdown has led to a mass exodus of musicians, many of whom fled Afghanistan out of fear for their lives or because their livelihoods were stripped away in one of the world’s poorest countries.
Former musicians are now being encouraged by the Taliban to pursue Islamic poetry and unaccompanied vocal chants, the only forms of music permitted under the group’s previous rule from 1996 to 2001.
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