Pakistani deportations threaten Peshawar’s community of exiled Afghan musicians

Peshawar’s long-standing role as a refuge for Afghan musicians is at risk as the Pakistani government pursues a wave of deportations that has already forced out about a million Afghans since last year, the report says. The city has hosted generations of artists who fled Soviet invasion, civil war and Taliban rule, and it became a rare place where Afghan music — from tabla and rubab players to singers recorded on cassette — flourished across decades.

The Taliban have banned music, persecuted artists and destroyed instruments both during their rule in the 1990s and again since reclaiming power in 2021, the article notes. Reporting from Peshawar highlights individual cases: Muhammad Hassan Zamri, 52, said he collects some 2,000 Afghan music cassettes, half displayed and half hidden, and did not know what would happen to them if he were sent back.

Exiled musicians such as Baryali Wali and performers at the Mafkoora cultural center say they fear the community’s cohesion will vanish if artists are expelled; “We’re all keeping our heads low now,” Mr. Wali said, and Saidullah Wafa added, “With the Taliban over there or the police here, we feel the same fear.” Expulsions and forced returns have increased in Peshawar and its province in recent weeks, according to data collected by the International Organization for Migration.

Key Topics

World, Afghan Musicians, Peshawar, Pakistan, Taliban, Mafkoora