The Taliban’s defense minister slammed fighters for goofing off and taking part in “the behavior of the warlords,” which was described as “damaging” the Taliban’s status in a new audio recording.
Following the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15, many of its fighters have been participating in leisurely activities whenever they are not on duty, including visiting the Kabul zoo, seeing swan-shaped pedal boats at a local lake, and visiting local amusement parks, among other activities.
“Stick to the tasks you have been assigned,” Taliban Defense Minister Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob said in an audio message released Thursday, according to the Wall Street Journal. “You are damaging our status, which has been created with the blood of our martyrs.”
TALIBAN ANNOUNCE HUNT FOR ANCIENT TREASURE
Yaqoob admonished the fighters for taking selfies, specifically whenever they meet prominent leaders within the Taliban, which the defense minister said could be a safety issue, as the photos can give away the locations of the prominent organizational leaders, the report added.
The fighters’ refusal to obey traffic rules by driving too fast in Ford Rangers and Toyota Land Cruisers is among conduct Yaqoob described as “the behavior of the warlords and gangsters of the puppet regime,” a reference to the overthrown U.S.-backed Afghan government.
“If we continue to act like this, God forbid, we will lose our Islamic system,” he added.
Yaqoob directed the soldiers to improve their appearances to be more in line with Islamic rules, instructing them to bring their beards, hair, and clothes into compliance.
One of the soldiers, 24-year-old Shafiullah Masood, said he is “happy that people are enjoying a peaceful life” now, adding that he used to have to “infiltrate” and “gather intelligence or to shoot people we were targeting.”
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Since the Taliban’s Aug. 15 takeover of Kabul, the group has warned the United States against trying to change their culture, specifically when it comes to women’s rights, even after they promised amnesty “for all” Afghans and encouraged women to join the government.
