The Afghan Taliban may be deserting their last northern stronghold of Kunduz in droves, but it is still business as usual for the one-eyed spiritual leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, who appears to be mocking the Western military operation by ignoring the bombs and issuing an eccentric appeal to all good Muslim men to wear their turbans straight.

In a report that might have been the ideal April 1 spoof if it weren’t true, The Daily Telegraph has said in all seriousness that Omar issued an edict on turban-wearing, just a day after his personal spokesman Tayyib Agha expressed defiance in the face of seven weeks of American bombing.