Footage of the abduction of Afghan TikTok comedian Nazar Mohammad, better known as Khasha Zwan, has surfaced, showing the man being held prisoner in the city of Kandahar.
Death of a comedian
On July 31st, the Taliban brutally executed Nazar for mocking the Taliban in a series of TikTok videos.
Before his death, Nazar was recorded being flanked by two armed militants in the back of a car on his way to his execution.
Despite being held at gunpoint, the comedian continued to insult the Taliban, joking that his abductors had mustaches – which were a symbol of bravery in southern Afghanistan, on their backsides – the insult prompted two slaps to Nazar’s face.
Shortly after the video was recorded, Nazar was executed by the militants, shot multiple times. Pictures of the execution scene show Nazar being helped up against a tree and later lying on the ground with a bloody wound to his neck.
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Initially denying responsibility, the Taliban openly acknowledged their role in the death of the comedian, though Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that they should have arrested Nazar rather than killing him.
Nazar has been famous in Afghanistan for his TikTok videos, with jokes and dances in mockery of the Taliban. It has also been speculated that he was a policeman before his death, as a former soldier of the Afghan army said that Nazar was a commander of a local unit.
His death has provided a terrifying glimpse into an Afghanistan ruled by the extremist Taliban group.
Afghan Second Vice President Sarwar Danish posted on Facebook saying that it was “a slap on the face of all Afghan people and an insult to humanity and human dignity.”
Taliban brutality
Since recapturing the capital Kabul after their decades-long guerrilla campaign against the former Afghan government and the U.S. forces, the Taliban have been reported committing assaults and executions on people across the nation, striking fear into the hearts of civilians everywhere.
The Taliban has been making sweeps on people caught possessing copies of the Bible in their phones, as well as revenge attacks in other cities.
A former British paratrooper warned that summary executions were already being carried out on those who were suspected of hostility.
“The Taliban are firmly threatening people,” Major Andrew Fox told LBC. “Executions are beginning in Kandahar province down in the south.”
Major Fox has also reported that the Taliban have intercepted interpreters who were attempting to flee the country via the airport. He also states that while Kabul is relatively peaceful, other cities are not so quiet.
“People have had phone calls to their houses saying, “when the Americans are gone, we are coming for you.”
Major Fox hopes that the people can find it easier to get onto the planes and evacuate Kabul, though he also admits that it would not be an easy task to settle people into the UK.
In honor of Khasha
Artists around the world have condemned the bloody murder of Nazar Mohammad, considering it a “deliberate assault on free expression.”
Poet Kawa Jobran posted on Facebook that “laughter and jokes do not have a place under Taliban rule.”
“We will not forget your oppressed look,” said author and activist Homeira Qaderi, who also shared her words about Nazar on social media.
