Afghanistan: Taliban enjoys boat rides in Band-e Amir National Park, watch

As thousands of civilians live amid fear and uncertainty in Afghanistan, the Taliban was seen enjoying boat rides in the country's Band-e Amir National Park. The undated visuals on social media showed the terror group's militants paddling colourful swan boats in the striking blue lakes of the oasis; a stark contrast to the lives of the civilians in the war-torn nation. The Taliban fighters were seen armed with massive guns and strikers as they enjoyed the joyride on the pedalos against the breath-taking backdrop of the Hindu Kush mountains.

It is important to mention that Band-e Amir National Park, which is also known as the “Grand Canyon“ of Afghanistan, was once a popular destination for thousands of domestic tourists before the takeover. Enveloped with the Hindu Kush mountains, the oasis is about 75 kilometres from Bamiyan, which was a Buddhist religious site from the 2nd century AD till the Islamic invasion of the Abbasid Caliphate in AD 770. The Taliban had destroyed the towering Buddhas of Bamiyan built in the sixth century, in 2001.

Taliban's joyride in amusement parks

Similar dystopian visuals had emerged in the aftermath of the Taliban takeover in mid-August. As violence and chaos engulfed Afghanistan, the Taliban were seen enjoying themselves at amusement parks and working out at gyms in the Presidential Palace. The militants were seen laughing and riding electric bumper cars at the parks while flaunting their assault rifles and weapons. In another video, they were also seen riding play horses in merry-go-round amid the complete chaos in Kabul. These videos, however, come in sharp contrast to the heart-wrenching clips of thousands of civilians who are desperate to leave the war-torn.

Taliban takeover

The fall of major cities like Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad and Lashkar Gah paved way for the Taliban's complete takeover of Kabul and Afghanistan. The hasty withdrawal of the US troops saw thousands of people attempting to flee from Afghanistan with several clinging to a departing US plane's wheels, and falling to their deaths. The country has now been declared as an 'Islamic Emirate' and the Taliban has announced its new 33-member government naming Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund as its interim Prime Minister and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar as his deputy.