Afghan taxi drivers defy Taliban music ban

Some taxi drivers in Kabul are playing Afghan, regional folk and pop music in their cars despite a Taliban government ban on music in public places.

Drivers told AFP they lower the volume or switch the music off near checkpoints because they fear the morality police run by the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice Ministry.

PVPV regulations say that, because music is forbidden and causes annoyance to passengers, drivers must not play or listen to it. The ministry did not respond to AFP questions about punishments for playing music, though breaches of other rules can lead to jail.

One driver, Roeen, said he has become more interested in music since the ban and described listening to it as a form of protest in a country where other forms of entertainment, including cinema, are also outlawed.

Another taxi driver said he listens only when he is alone and surrounded by traffic noise. He said he had twice been stopped at checkpoints for having a USB stick and memory card containing music, and that they were broken.

Ministry spokesman Saiful Islam Khyber said no figures are available on how many instruments have been seized. Provincial PVPV departments sometimes report burning instruments as part of the crackdown.