Images published in recent days show the murals, including one memorializing the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement, being painted over with various slogans touting the Taliban’s Aug. 15 takeover of the country.
A mural depicting Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar shaking hands after signing the peace deal ensuring a U.S. troop withdrawal was replaced with a quote calling the Taliban the “true defenders” of Afghanistan, according to the Guardian. Khalilzad represented the U.S. during the recent reconciliation effort in Afghanistan , and Baradar was chosen to be acting deputy prime minister of the Taliban-led government.
And it begun. The Taliban have started painting over our murals. They started with the historic one that marked the signing of #DohaDeal. #BaradarKhalilzadMural is no more. Instead, the black and white message says don’t trust the enemy’s propaganda, quoting Mullah Haibatullah. pic.twitter.com/Pls4McUQkj
— Omaid H. Sharifi-امید حفیظه شریفی (@OmaidSharifi) September 3, 2021
Another mural that had depicted Japanese doctor and aid worker Tetsu Nakamura, who was killed in an ambush in Afghanistan in 2019, now bears a slogan declaring “victory” for the country and the Taliban, the report added.
Omaid Sharifi, who co-founded art group Artlords, which is responsible for the original paintings, expressed devastation over the loss of the murals.
This article was originally published by Washington Examiner. Read the full article.
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