An Afghan folk singer was shot dead by a Taliban fighter in the Afghan Andarabi Valley, his family said. (Photo: AP / PTI File)
A Taliban fighter shot an Afghan folk singer in a troubled mountain province under unexplained circumstances, his family said on Sunday. The murder renewed concern among activists that the Insurgents would return to their oppressive rule in the country according to theirs Military lightning toppled the government.
Fawad Andarabi’s assassination comes as the United States collapses historic airlift during which tens of thousands were evacuated from Kabul International Airport, the scene of much of the chaos that has gripped the Afghan capital since the Taliban came to power two weeks ago. After a Suicide attack by the IS branch which killed over 180 people, the Taliban increased their security around the airfield when Britain ended its evacuation flights on Saturday.
U.S. military cargo planes continued into the airport on Sunday ahead of a deadline set by President Joe Biden Tuesday for the withdrawal of all troops from America’s longest war.
CIRCUMSTANCES IN THE ANDARABI VALLEY SINCE THE TALIBAN TAKEOVER
The shooting of the folk singer on Friday took place in the Andarabi Valley, after which he was named, an area of Baghlan province, about 100 kilometers north of Kabul. The valley had seen a period of upheaval since the Taliban came to power, with some districts in the region coming under the control of militia fighters who opposed Taliban rule. However, the Taliban say they have now recaptured these areas the neighboring Panjshir in the Hindu Kush Mountains remains the only one of the 34 provinces in Afghanistan that is not under his control.
“HE WAS INNOCENT, ONLY ENTERTAINING PEOPLE”: SON
The Taliban previously came to Andarabi’s house and ransacked it and even had tea with the musician, his son Jawad Andarabi told The Associated Press. But something changed on Friday
“He was innocent, a singer who just entertained people,” said his son. “You shot him in the head on the farm.”
His son said he wanted justice and that a local Taliban council had promised to punish his father’s killer. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the AP that the insurgents were investigating the incident but had no further details about the murder.
SONGS ABOUT AFGHANISTAN
Andarabi played the ghichak, a bowed lute, and sang traditional songs about his birthplace, his people, and Afghanistan as a whole. A video posted on the Internet showed him at a performance sitting on a carpet with the mountains of his homeland surrounding him while he sang.
“There is no country in the world like my home, a proud nation,” he sang. “Our beautiful valley, the home of our great-grandparents.”
HUMAN RIGHTS OF ARTISTS
Karima Bennoune, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights, wrote on Twitter that she was “very concerned” about Andarabi’s murder.
“We urge governments to ask the Taliban to respect the #human rights of #artists,” she wrote.
Amnesty International’s general secretary, Agnes Callamard, also condemned the murder.
“There is growing evidence that the Taliban of 2021 is the same as the intolerant, violent and repressive Taliban of 2001,” she wrote on Twitter. “20 years later. Nothing has changed about that.”
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