Murtaza Solangi, spokesperson for Pakistan’s president, shared footage of a concert by Pakistani singer Mehdi Hasan in Kabul, saying the Afghan capital was once a centre of culture and music.
Referring to the performance, Solangi wrote that Kabul had been a hub of culture and the arts before the mujahideen and later the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.
Mehdi Hasan, widely known as the “King of Ghazal” in Pakistan, was a celebrated singer whose popularity extended beyond Pakistan to India and Afghanistan. The presidential spokesperson referred to one of Hassan’s concerts held in Kabul during the reign of King Zahir Shah. During the monarchy, Kabul was a gathering place for prominent Indian and Pakistani artists.
Hassan performed in Afghanistan in 1960, during Zahir Shah’s rule, and also sang in Persian.
Posting on X on Saturday alongside a clip of the concert, Solangi wrote that there was a time when Kabul was a centre of culture and music, noting that the ghazal performance by Mehdi Hassan took place in the city.
He added that the concert occurred long before what he described as US-funded mujahideen came to power, and before the Taliban seized Afghanistan and turned it into a "big torture camp."
Both the mujahideen and the Taliban have, at different times, received support from Pakistan.
The Taliban consider music forbidden under their interpretation of Islamic law and have banned the broadcast of music in media and public places. Since returning to power, they have destroyed thousands of musical instruments during their second period of rule.
