“What the hell were you doing in Kabul?” Helo Magazine asked the Kabul-based rock trio White City. The three members of the band originally travelled to Afghanistan as expatriate crisis responders. But life in the Afghan capital called for social gatherings and stress relief, so the trio figured, if they …

  The organiser of a concert where the singers Farzana Naz and Rita Wagma appeared on stage without headscarves was fired after religious elders had complained that this was inappropriate. Farzana Naz was the first female performer to appear on stage in Helmand in decades, one of Afghanistan’s most volatile …

Pashto music can now be heard in almost every nook and corner of Afghanistan, reported PRlog. Today many Pakistani film makers are coming to Afghanistan to engage Pashto performers and artists for tv serials and movies. Although they are regularly receiving threats from the Taliban and religious fundamentalists, they are …

A bomb blast at a concert by Afghanistan’s top singer held in the Westerm city of Herat wounded at least 13 people on 14 September 2010, reported ABC News. Read the full story:     Afghanistan ABC News – 15 September 2010: ‘Bomb blast at Afghan concert injures 13 fans’ …

A string of music stores have become a new target for militants suspected to be Taliban enforcers — even in once-stable havens such as Jalalabad, reported Hashim Shukoor, a special correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers, along with The Guardian’s correspondent Jon Boone. In Jalalabad, roving enforcers have started targeting music stores …

Afghan singer Shakib Mosadeq dared sing songs of political protest, and was subsequently forced to leave his country, reported Global Post on 16 May 2010 “Freedom of speech in Afghanistan is allowed only if the speech remains void of substantial political content,” wrote Nushin Arbabzadah in her article for Global …

A Morality and Knowledge Association recently established in Herat wants to ban women’s voices from the airwaves, reported Jean MacKenzie and Rateb Muzhda from Herat The privately owned association has about 60 staffers, says its director, Aminullah Mohtasem, all of whom work voluntarily. Jean MacKenzie and Rateb Muzhda wrote in …

  Renowned British ethnomusicologist John Baily and Freemuse executive director Marie Korpe spoke to Radio Liberty correspondent Abubakar Siddique about the Taliban’s campaign against music and musicians in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Excerpts: By Abubakar Siddique, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty correspondent The Taliban justifies their crackdown on artists by …

20-year-old Lima Sahar charmed her way into the third spot of the 2008 version of the wildly popular ‘Afghan Star’ competition, beating more than 2,000 rivals in votes sent by mobile telephone text message. Now in exile, she fears for her life.   Lima Sahar   A year ago Lima …

0n 23 March 2009, Afghanistan’s attorney general office arrested Fahim Kohdamani, the manager of Amroz TV, allegedly for broadcasting “anti-Islamic” and “vulgar” programmes on his music show ‘Biya wa Bibin’ (‘Come and See’).. According the general attorney’s office, he was arrested because of a letter from the Commission for Media …