(Dan Tri) – After battles, many Taliban soldiers indulged in fun activities at parks and zoos, causing Defense Minister Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob to issue regulations to rectify the situation.
Taliban members ride ducks in an amusement park in Herat province, Afghanistan (Photo: Reuters).
Thousands of young Taliban fighters from all over the country, many of whom had never been to a major city before, were deployed to duty in the capital Kabul after the Taliban took power on September 1.
When not on duty, soldiers go sightseeing, picnicking and visiting amusement parks.
Top attractions for Taliban fighters are Qargha Lake, with its swan-shaped pedal boats, Kabul Zoo and the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood, where visitors can stroll on a grassy hill with views across the city.
While on a boat at Qargha Lake, Shafiullah Masood, 24, from Wardak province, said: `I used to infiltrate, gather intelligence or shoot people we targeted. And now
But the Taliban government’s Defense Minister Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob, son of founder Mullah Omar, does not appear to support these activities.
`Please persevere with the tasks you have been assigned,` Minister Yaqoob said in the announcement published on September 23.
Minister Yaqoob was especially frustrated by the fact that Taliban soldiers took out their phones to take photos with the group’s senior leaders whenever they encountered them.
So one of the newly announced key directives is to stop taking so many selfies.
The new administration’s Defense Minister also asked Taliban fighters to improve their attitude and appearance, including growing beards, hair and wearing clothes consistent with Islamic rules.
Minister Yaqoob also complained about Taliban fighters driving too fast and not obeying traffic rules.
`This is the behavior of the warlords and gangsters of the puppet regime,` he said, referring to the US-backed Afghan government that the Taliban overthrew.
Taliban soldiers play in a park in Kabul, Afghanistan (Photo: Reuters).
So far, Minister Mawlawi Yaqoob’s directives appear to have had little impact on Taliban fighters, many of whom are still teenagers and fascinated by the new things in the city.
Ehsanullah, a 23-year-old boxer from the southern province of Helmand, was on his third trip to the Kabul park, which had rides he had never seen before.
At the park, Ehsnanullah and the Taliban soldiers were asked to surrender their US-made Kalashnikovs and M16 rifles at a special booth.
The Kabul Zoo, too, was crowded with excited Taliban fighters.
