KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Local sources report that the Taliban’s morality police raided a private gathering in western Herat province and arrested local singer Jawad Naseri for performing at the event.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, August 13, in a garden in Herat. Sources say Taliban officers, armed with weapons, stormed the gathering, arrested the singer, and destroyed musical instruments.
The sources added that the Taliban used force and lashes to take the singer into custody. His family remains fearful, and the Taliban have not provided any information about his well-being or fate.
Local Taliban authorities have not commented on the incident.
Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed a nationwide ban on music at weddings and public events, claiming it “causes moral corruption.” Violators face arrests, fines, and in some cases, torture.
Dozens of similar incidents have been reported in the past, with Taliban forces raiding public events and weddings to detain singers and musicians.
Afghanistan is now the only country in the world where music is officially banned. The Taliban enforced the same prohibition during their first rule in the late 1990s.
Hundreds of musicians have fled the country since the Taliban takeover, while those who remain have abandoned their careers, facing harassment, detention, and even death.
