Afghanistan’s Taliban fighters banned from bringing their guns to funfairs

Taliban militants have been flocking to amusement parks since the group seized power last August

A Taliban fighter carrying a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) launcher stands on pirate ship ride in a fairground at Qargha Lake on the outskirts of Kabul, 28 September 2021 (AFP via Getty Images)

Taliban fighters have been told they can no longer bring their weapons to amusement parks in Afghanistan, in what appears to be another effort by the country’s new rulers to soften their image.

Taliban fighters, many of whom have spent most of their lives in a 20-year insurgency against a US-backed government, flocked to amusement parks in Afghan cities and towns after they took over in August.

“Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate are not allowed to enter amusement parks with weapons, military uniforms and vehicles,” the main Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said on Twitter on Wednesday.

“(They) are obliged to abide by all the rules and regulations of amusement parks.”

The Taliban earned a reputation as uncompromising and often brutal enforcers of their strict ways when they last ruled, between 1996 and 2001.

But since taking over in August, they have tried to present a more moderate face to their fellow Afghans and to the wider world, as an interim cabinet grapples with a looming humanitarian crisis.

Of particular attraction for Taliban fighters was one of Kabul’s largest amusement parks and a waterside park at the Qargha reservoir, in the city’s western outskirts.

Fighters clutching automatic rifles queued for up carousel and swinging pirate ship rides - with regular visitors looking on nervously.

Most of the fighters Reuters spoke to then had never been to Kabul until the Taliban took control of the capital on 15 August, and some were eager to visit the amusement park before returning to duties around the country.

Reuters