MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Nazar Mohammad: Video shows Afghan comedian mocked Taliban till the bitter end

Nazar Mohammad, popularly known as Khasha Zwan, was seen in a viral video filmed at the end of July

An Afghan comedian continued to mock the Taliban as he was dragged away from his home by militants and was later executed by firing squad.

Nazar Mohammad, popularly known as Khasha Zwan, was seen in a viral video filmed at the end of July, sitting in the back of a car with an insurgent on either side of him. One of them was reportedly brandishing a Kalashnikov machine gun, the Daily Mail reported. According to Human Rights Watch, the comedian was killed in Kandahar shortly after the city fell to the extremist group that recently gave the US an August 31 deadline to evacuate Afghanistan.

RELATED ARTICLES

American citizens being ‘beaten throughout the night’ in Afghanistan by Taliban, says reporter

Who is Khatera? Afghan working mom shot and blinded by Taliban says women are fed to dogs

Mohammad was popular in Afghanistan for his routines poking fun at the Taliban through song and dance. He even uploaded skits and performances to his TikTok account. The comedian is seen in the footage of his final moments making jokes about the group following his capture. The Taliban militants sitting next to him begin slapping him and laughing throughout the video, before the one to his left menacingly switches his gun for a larger firearm. Mohammad was later killed after being shot multiple times by a firing squad, according to the Daily Mail.

Photos later emerged showing him backed up against a tree and some in which he lay on the ground with his throat cat, per local reports. While the Taliban initially denied responsibility for the comedian's demise, they later admitted that the two men in the car belonged to the extremist outfit and claimed they had been arrested to be tried in a Taliban court.

Nazar Mohammad, the group alleged, was involved in the torture and killing of Taliban fighters. They insisted that he should have been brought before a Taliban court instead of being immediately punished by death. According to reports, Nazar Mohammad initially worked for the Afghan National Police. This made him a prime target for the Taliban, who also wanted to punish him for his jokes and satirical songs. 

Nazar Mohammad's killing at the end of July increased the fear of revenge killings as the Taliban continued to strengthen their position in Afghanistan. The comedian, who left behind a wife and daughters, received tributes from several popular figures.

Ziauddin Yousafzai, whose Nobel laureate daughter Malala Yousafzai survived after being shot in the head by militants in Pakistan in 2012, was among those who expressed condolences over Nazar Mohammad's death. Sarwar Danesh, former Afghan vice president, said that slapping Nazar Mohammad was the same as slapping all Afghans and that his killing was against their culture.

Social media was inundated with reactions to the comedian's execution.

"Watching this video broke my heart," Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad tweeted. "Taliban in Afghanistan mercilessly beat up and killed this poor comedian, Nazar Mohammad. Their religious bigotry is against joy. The same angry religious bigotry in my beautiful Iran also killed people like Fereydoun Farrokhzad."

"Even as he was being arrested by the Taliban, the comedian Nazar Mohammad was making jokes about them to their faces. He was later found dead. 'The greatest enemy of authority is contempt, and the surest way to undermine it is laughter' - Hannah Arendt," comedian Andrew Doyle chimed in. "Killed mercilessly by animals who want to take Afghanistan back to the dark ages. Absolutely horrific and shocking!" former British SAS Chris Ryan added.

"I truly hope one day these #Taliban assassins will be hunted down, prosecuted, and convicted of a war crime. @IntlCrimCourt My deepest respect for Nazar Mohammad," one Twitter user wrote.

"Remember this man…Nazar Mohammad, known by stage name Khasha Zwan..an Afghan comedian who wasn’t afraid to show his disdain for the terrorists about 2execute him by continuing to mock them before they killed him. Western comedians should be half as brave to take on political satire," another commented.