Taliban Invites Tourists to Afghanistan in Bizarre Promotional Video

Representatives of the Taliban, the group currently in power in Afghanistan, have released a controversial video aimed at promoting the country as a tourist destination. The video appeared on the Instagram account @Afghanarabc (Instagram is banned in Russia; it belongs to Meta, which is designated as an extremist organization in the Russian Federation). In the footage circulating online, armed Taliban fighters stand behind three men with bags over their heads. One of the Afghans removes a bag from one "prisoner," who then flashes a cheerful smile and says: “Welcome to Afghanistan!” The scene, equal parts unsettling and surreal, has sparked a mixture of fascination and dark humor on social media. Some users reacted enthusiastically: “I dream of visiting this great country—your brother from Morocco,” one comment reads. Another user wrote, “The country I want to visit the most—may Allah bless you.” Others noted, “Most people have no idea how beautiful Afghanistan is.”