蜜芽传媒

The Taliban say they will have a new model ready for governing the country within the next few weeks. But there are reports they are imposing restrictions that echo the strict conservative rule when they were in power in the 1990s. Among the many controls was a ban on music.

Dr Ahmad Sarmast is the founder of Afghanistan's National Institute of Music, which was set up in 2010. He spoke to Newsday from Melbourne where he was holidaying when the Taliban seized control.

鈥淲e are all shocked right now. We are all fearful that Afghanistan will be returning back to the 1990s when the nation was entirely silent. While the leadership of the Taliban are talking about respect for women's rights and diversity, in practice it seems the leadership of the Taliban do not have control over their foot soldiers, who are establishing their own rules and regulations on the streets of Kabul.鈥�

鈥淐urrently my students are underground, as well as my faculty. Given the lack of law and order on the streets of Kabul鈥� they are fearful about their future. My biggest concern is their safety.鈥�

He said he wanted "to make sure that the musical rights of the people of Afghanistan are ensured."

Photo: A girl plays piano at Afghanistan's National Institute of Music in Kabul (Getty Images)

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