Pashto songs and Afghan music

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A revival of Pashto songs and Afghan music

Pashto language and culture has had a great tradition for music, dance and traditional folk songs. This great language of Afghanistan has produced great Pashto singers, musicians, and poets. Unfortunately since the Taliban rule of Afghanistan, Afghan music and subsequently Pashto music has taken a back seat.

The notorious Taliban religious police called the "Ministry for the prevention of vice and promotion of virtue" discouraged music. They completely banned the Afghan people from singing Pashto songs, listening to music and dancing. They even went to the extent of beating Afghani musicians in public for singing and exercising their basic rights to entertainment. The Taliban hanged television sets in public to show their hatred for anything to do with music.

This attitude of the Taliban rule in Afghanistan really hit the Pashto and Afghan music industry. Music shops closed, singers either left for neighbouring Pakistan or left the music trade altogether, recording studios and production houses closed down. For decades no Pashto songs were song by the Afghan people. For the very people who took music for granted, music came to an end.

As the liberal government of under Hamid Karzai took over, normalcy has now returned to Afghanistan as far as Pashto music is concerned. The "Kabul Music Centre" is full of Pashto singers and cant keep pace with students eager to commence their training in music. Recording studios once left idle has now reopened, music shops selling Pashto songs are back in business and Pashto singers are back singing Pashto songs at evening shows in and around in Kabul. This is a remarkable turn around in the Afghan music industry.