Taliban ban music in Afghanistan's eastern province

Taliban officials have asked local media outlets in Afghanistan's eastern Khost province to stop broadcasting music and entertainment shows which feature "women’s voices", local media reported on Tuesday.

The head of the Khost cultural and information department made the announcement during a meeting with managers from local radio and TV stations, instructing them to follow an “Islamic framework” in all broadcast programmes, the local Tolo News TV channel reported.

Music was banned the last time the Taliban ruled Afghanistan and, while the new government has not yet issued such a decree, its leadership still frowns on its use in entertainment and sees it as a breach of Islamic legislation.

In December, the Taliban ordered taxi drivers not to play music in their cars. In October, the militants shot dead two wedding guests for "listening to music".

A relative of the victims said Taliban fighters had opened fire while music was being played at a wedding in Sorkhrud, in Nangarhar province in the east of the country.

The previous Taliban government, which was in power between 1996 and 2001, imposed a very strict interpretation of Islamic law and harsh public punishments.

But since returning to power in August 2021 after overthrowing the US-backed government of President Ashraf Ghani the Taliban, seeking international recognition and an end to sanctions, has tried to show a more moderate face.