Gunmen claiming to be Taliban kill three wedding guests over music

Several gunmen posing as Taliban fighters killed three people over the weekend as they attacked a wedding in an attempt to stop music from being played.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s spokesman, said two of the three men had been arrested and insisted they were not part of the Islamist movement.

While music has not yet been officially banned in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over in August, it was forbidden during the previous Taliban government and its leadership still regards it as a breach of Islamic law.

“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 [asked] that the music stop playing,” said Mr Mujahid.

“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.”

The incident came as the reclusive leader of the Taliban was said to have made a rare public appearance on Saturday in an apparent attempt to dispel rumours of his death.

Haibatullah Akhundzada, who had not been seen in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s takeover, purportedly paid a visit to the southern city of Kandahar.

A Taliban official who claimed in an interview with Reuters that the supreme leader had visited the Jamia Darul Aloom Hakimia, a religious school.

However, no video footage or photographs of the event have emerged, while the only evidence provided by the Taliban was a 10-minute audio recording shared by its social media accounts.

There has not been a confirmed sighting of Akhundzada in years, which has led to speculation about his whereabouts and whether he is still alive.

At a news conference addressing the wedding incident, the Taliban’s spokesman said that Afghans should try to “persuade” others not to play music, rather than shoot them. d.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]