Taliban Arrest Two After Firing In Afghanistan Wedding For Playing Music Kills Three

Taliban denied that attackers were acting on behalf of the Islamist movement who attacked the wedding in Shamspur Mar Ghundi village of Nangarhar province in Afghanistan

Taliban fighters in Afghanistan (Image: AFP)

New Delhi: In connection to the death of three people over the music being played at a wedding in eastern Afghanistan, the Taliban government informed that two of the three attackers have been arrested on Saturday. Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid denied the attackers were acting on behalf of the Islamist movement who attacked the wedding in Shamspur Mar Ghundi village of Nangarhar province on Friday night.

"Last night, at the wedding of Haji Malang Jan in Shamspur Mar Ghundi village of Nangarhar, three people who introduced themselves as Taliban, entered the proceedings and the music stopped playing," he said.

"As a result of firing, at least three people have been killed and several others have been injured. "Two suspects have been taken into custody by the Taliban in connection with the incident and one who escaped is still being pursued. The perpetrators of the incident caught, who have used the name of the Islamic Emirate to carry out their personal feud, have been handed over to face Sharia law," he said.

Qazi Mullah Adel, spokesman for the Taliban governor in Nangarhar province, confirmed the incident but did not provide details. A relative of the victims said the Taliban had opened fire while music was being played.

However, former vice-president of Afghanistan, Amrullah Saleh, on Saturday claimed that the Taliban had killed thirteen people to “silence music at a wedding party” in Nangarhar province.

In a tweet, Amrullah Saleh on Saturday claimed Taliban militiamen have massacred 13 persons to silence music at a wedding party in Nengarhar.

Saleh condemned the act, saying, “For 25 years Pak trained them to kill Afg culture & replace it with ISI tailored fanaticism to control our soil. It is now in the works. This regime won't last but unfortunately, until the moment of its demise the Afghans will continue paying a price again,” the former vice president who currently identifies himself as the “Acting President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan” wrote.

In the previous rule of the Taliban music was banned, 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 law.

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

(With inputs from AFP)