Fawad Andarabi: Afghan folk singer taken from his home and killed by the Taliban

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His son, Jawad, told The Associated Press that the singer was “shot in the head” at the family’s farm in the Andarab Valley in northern Baghlan province.

“He was innocent, a singer who only entertained people,” his son said. The AP was the first to denounce the death of Fawad Andarabi.

CNN has not independently confirmed the circumstances surrounding the singer’s murder, but former Afghan Interior Minister Massoud Andarabi, who is also from the district for which the family is named, has spoken publicly about his death.

“The brutality of the Taliban continues in Andarab. Today they have brutally killed the folk singer, Fawad Andarabi, who was simply bringing joy to this valley and its people. While singing here” our beautiful valley … land of our ancestors … “He will not show up for the brutality of the Taliban,” he tweeted on Saturday.

The assassination has raised concerns about a return to the harsh form of government the Taliban imposed when it last took control of Afghanistan, from 1996 to 2001. During that time, the Taliban banned most forms of music. as non-Islamic.
In an interview with The New York Times on Wednesday, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said “music is banned in Islam,” when asked if it would be banned in public in Afghanistan again. He added that the Taliban hoped they could “convince people not to do these things, instead of pressuring them.”

But the militant group’s previous intolerance of music without religious significance has made rights defenders suspicious of crackdowns on artists.

UN Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights Karima Bennoune and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Artistic Freedom Deeyah Khan have expressed “grave concern” over reports of Andarabi’s assassination.

“As the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights, (with) UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Artistic Freedom, Deeyah Khan, expressed concern over reports of the terrible murder of singer #FawadAndarabi. to governments to demand that the Taliban respect the #human rights of #artists, ”Bennoune said on Twitter on Saturday.

The Andarab Valley is located next to the Panjshir Valley, 90 miles north of Kabul, where sporadic fighting between the Taliban and an armed coalition of northern militias known as the Alliance has been taking place since last week. of the North. Some recent fighting has also taken place in the Andarab Valley districts.

Taliban commanders have told CNN that an agreement has been reached to stop the offensive actions; however, the Northern Alliance has not made any direct comment.

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