Local sources report that the Taliban arrested five individuals in Takhar Province on Saturday for allegedly playing musical instruments.
The arrests took place in the Rustaq, Chahaab and Dasht-e Qala districts, according to the sources.
In an official statement, Takhar’s Taliban-controlled security department stated that a total of 15 people had been detained on charges of “gambling and playing music.” This follows an earlier announcement by the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which claimed to have destroyed over 121,000 musical instruments in recent months as part of their ongoing enforcement of a nationwide ban on music.
Since the Taliban’s return to power, they have reinstated strict prohibitions on music, which was also outlawed during their previous regime in the late 1990s.
