Family: Taliban kills Afghan folk singer in restive province

KABUL – A Taliban combatant changeable dormant an Afghan people vocalist successful a restive upland state nether unclear circumstances, his household said Sunday. The sidesplitting reignited concerns among activists that the insurgents would instrumentality to their oppressive regularisation successful the state aft their subject blitz toppled the government.

The slaying of Fawad Andarabi comes arsenic the United States winds down a historical airlift that saw tens of thousands evacuated from Kabul's planetary airport, the country of overmuch of the chaos that engulfed the Afghan superior since the Taliban took implicit 2 weeks ago. After an Islamic State affiliate's termination onslaught that killed implicit 180 people, the Taliban accrued its information astir the airfield arsenic Britain ended its evacuation flights Saturday.

U.S. subject cargo planes continued their runs into the airdrome Sunday, up of a Tuesday deadline earlier acceptable by President Joe Biden to retreat each troops from America's longest war.

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The shooting Friday of the people vocalist came successful the Andarabi Valley for which helium was named, an country of Baghlan state immoderate 100 kilometers (60 miles) northbound of Kabul. The vale had seen upheaval since the Taliban takeover, with immoderate districts successful the country coming nether the power of militia fighters opposed to the Taliban rule. The Taliban accidental they person since retaken those areas, though neighboring Panjshir successful the Hindu Kush mountains remains the lone 1 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces not nether its control.

The Taliban antecedently came retired to Andarabi's location and searched it, adjacent drinking beverage with the musician, his lad Jawad Andarabi told The Associated Press. But thing changed Friday.

“He was innocent, a vocalist who lone was entertaining people,” his lad said. “They changeable him successful the caput connected the farm.”

His lad said helium wanted justness and that a section Taliban assembly promised to punish his father's killer.

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Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told the AP that the insurgents would analyse the incident, but had nary different details connected the killing.

Andarabi played the ghichak, a bowed lute, and sang accepted songs astir his birthplace, his radical and Afghanistan arsenic a whole. A video online showed him astatine 1 performance, sitting connected a rug with the mountains of location surrounding him arsenic helium sang.

“There is nary state successful the satellite similar my homeland, a arrogant nation,” helium sang. “Our beauteous valley, our great-grandparents' homeland."

Karima Bennoune, the United Nations peculiar rapporteur connected taste rights, wrote connected Twitter that she had “grave concern” implicit Andarabi's killing.

“We telephone connected governments to request the Taliban respect the #humanrights of #artists,” she wrote.

Agnes Callamard, the secretary-general of Amnesty International, likewise decried the killing.

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“There is mounting grounds that the Taliban of 2021 is the aforesaid arsenic the intolerant, violent, repressive Taliban of 2001," she wrote connected Twitter. “20 years later. Nothing has changed connected that front.”

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Akhgar reported from Istanbul, Gambrell from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

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