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Halimi was one of hundreds of Taliban fighters who enjoyed Friday’s retreat to the sandy beach park in Qargha. They are unwinding after months of conflict and weeks of security duty since the Taliban took power in mid-August 2021.
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“I feel very happy to come to Kabul and to be able to visit Qargha for the first time… people welcomed me and my friends in a brotherly way,” Halimi, 24, a militia from Maidan Wardak province told Reuters, who asked not to be given his full name.
The militias, all heavily armed in the park, sipped tea and bought snacks from stalls dotted along the shoreline.
Some line up to try the amusement park rides, which include a pirate ship and a flying chair carousel.
Behind Halimi, Ziaul Haq, 25, also from Maidan Wardak, beamed as he rode his horse.
Most of the militias had not been to Kabul until the Taliban took control of the capital on August 15, 2021, and some wanted to visit amusement parks before returning to their duties across the country.
“We are proud to have fought and now they (the Americans) are gone, it’s the most fun thing we’ve ever had,” Halimi said, adding that she had met her cousin at the park and had a picnic to celebrate the return to Taliban rule. Reuters, Monday (11/10/2021).
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