Former Afghan Minister of Interior Masoud Andarabi said in a tweet on Saturday that the Taliban executed an Afghan folk musician just days after announcing that music would no longer be allowed to be played in public areas.

According to the former minister, Fawad Andarabi was "brutally killed" in the village of Andarab, near the Panjshir Valley, which is home to a Taliban-resisting resistance unit.

The Taliban has made it illegal to play music in public, with Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid telling the New York Times that music is forbidden in Islam.

“Music is forbidden in Islam, but instead of pressuring people, we hope to persuade them not to do such things,” Mujahid told the New York Times.

Despite the group's public softening of tone in comparison to their 1996-2001 control, there are fears of a return to authoritarian governance.

Aryana Sayeed, an Afghan pop singer, said on Instagram on August 21 that she had managed to depart the country and was on her way to Istanbul.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Mujahid also advised women and children to stay at home, claiming that Taliban fighters were not trained to protect their safety.

The command sabotaged the group's efforts to project a more tolerant image, recalling their original rule, which prohibited women from going to work or leaving the house.