Taliban to ban music in Afghanistan

A Taliban leader appeared to confirm on Wednesday that music in public will once again be banned in Afghanistan following the group's rapid takeover of the country in recent weeks.

Report informs that Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, gave an interview to The New York Times where he discussed how the Islamic group intended to run the country and sought to downplay concerns about the treatment of women and reprisals against those who worked with U.S. forces.

"Music is forbidden in Islam," Mujahid said.

"But we're hoping that we can persuade people not to do such things, instead of pressuring them," he said.

Mujahid also addressed questions about the treatment of women in his interview on Wednesday, suggesting Afghan women will be able to resume their normal lives. He also dismissed the idea that women would need to be accompanied by a male guardian— called a mahram—whenever they leave the house. This would only apply for journeys of three days or more.

"If they go to school, the office, university, or the hospital, they don't need a mahram," Mujahid said.

He also denied reports that the Taliban was seeking out interpreters and other Afghans who had helped U.S. forces, saying they would be safe in Afghanistan and criticized evacuations from the country that "take out our human resources."