After a video of him being smacked by two guys went viral, the Taliban acknowledged executing a TikTok comic in Afghanistan.
Comedian Nazar Mohammad, better known as Khasha Zwan, was kidnapped from his house in Kandahar's southern district and shot many times before being slain. His body was photographed and circulated on social media.
#Kandahar: Video of martyred Nazar Mohammad, the famous Kandahari comedian, has been circulating on social media showing the moments when the Taliban took him away from his home and eventually martyred him. #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/JSkWaAmnHB
— RTA World (@rtaworld) July 27, 2021
According to Al-Jazeera, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid acknowledged that the two men slapping Mohammad in the video were Taliban members and that they will be apprehended and tried for murder.
Mohammad rose to prominence in Afghanistan as a result of his TikTok videos.
According to Patricia Gossman, assistant Asia director at Human Rights Watch, "Taliban forces apparently executed Khasha Zwan because he poked fun at Taliban leaders," "His murder and other recent abuses demonstrate the willingness of Taliban commanders to violently crush even the tamest criticism or objection."
According to Al-Jazeera, Zabihullah Mujahid claimed that the comedian was a member of the Afghan National Police and had been involved in the torture and killing of a Taliban man.
He went on to say that instead of executing the comic, the Taliban forces should have detained him and brought him before a Taliban court.
The assassination of Mohammad comes amid an uptick in warfare in Afghanistan, precipitated by the withdrawal of US troops from the country.
The Taliban has been capturing land across Afghanistan since Joe Biden announced plans to exit in April, according to one report, controlling 55 percent of the nation.
While the Taliban's territorial advances have largely been rural, they have recently gained control of provincial capitals and seized border crossings.
According to Human Rights Watch, the Taliban has been detaining and often executing government and police officials.
Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman, stated in an interview with The Associated Press that the group was under orders not to interfere with civilians or impose restrictions in recently acquired regions. Any wrongdoings, he stressed, would be examined.
