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After Afghanistan beat Australia in the T20 Cricket World Cup league match in June 2024, an old video appearing to show men dancing with firearms has been viewed millions of times in social media posts that falsely claimed it showed celebrations in the country after the match. The video has circulated online since at least March 2021.

"Afghanistan Shock #Australia By 21 Runs In Super 8s Match Of #T20 World Cup. Massive celebrations in Afghanistan after their team stunned world champions Australia in the T20 World Cup," read a Facebook post on June 23, 2024.

It was shared on the same day Afghanistan beat world champion Australiafor the first time in the T20 World Cup Super-Eight.

The post included a video -- viewed more than eight million times -- which shows a group of men dancing while holding what appear to be firearms.

Thousands of cricket fans celebrated by lighting fireworks in the streets of Afghanistan following the country's victory over Australia.

Since the Taliban took over in August 2021 and introduced an austere vision of Islam, scenes of public jubilation have been rare.

Afghanistan's dream of reaching the World Cup final wasshattered after losing to South Africa in the semi-final match on June 27 (archived link).

The video was shared with similar false claims onsocial media site X and on Facebook.

However, it predates Afghanistan's win over Australia by at least three years.

The same video was previouslydebunked by AFP here in 2021 after it circulated with another false claim.

A reverse image search of a keyframe from the footage found it was uploaded on YouTube on April 11, 2021 (archived link).

The video's headline read: "Bannu DJ Full HD Video 2021/Bannu Wedding Dance", referring to a district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Its description read: "This video is for entertainment only peacefully and Pathan culture wedding Dance# Bannu DJ Full HD Video 2021."

"Pathan" is a term that refers to the Pashtun ethnic group residing primarily in Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the false posts (left) and the 2021 YouTube footage (right):

Several other online posts also shared the video here, here and here in 2021 (archived links here, here and here).

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Dancing armed men clip falsely linked to Afghanistan's historic cricket win over Australia - Yahoo News UK

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Afghanistan has been through everything. Now it wants to dust off its postal service and modernize - Rocky Mount Telegram

A two-day UN conference begins on Sunday in Doha which aims to bolster international engagement with the Taliban and includes a Taliban delegation for the first time since their return to power.

The UN announced that representatives from about 30 countries and international organizations have been invited to the third round of such talks to meet with the Afghan de facto authorities to discuss Afghanistan.

The chief spokesman for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid, who is leading the delegation, stated in Kabul before their departure that their priorities include discussing economic issues, international sanctions affecting Afghanistan and their governance achievements.

However, Mujahid emphasized that internal Afghan matters, considered domestic concerns, will be off the table.

This marks a shift from February when the Taliban refused to attend a similar meeting. While the UN desires a broader agenda including human rights, women's rights, and political inclusiveness, the Taliban remain wary of outside influence.

They reject the participation of other Afghan groups, including women, insisting on being the sole representative of Afghanistan at international meetings to prevent foreign interference.

UN Under Secretary General Rosemary DiCarlo is expected to chair the two-day meeting. DiCarlo also plans to meet separately with Afghan activists on Tuesday.

According to UN officials, her focus during all Doha discussions will be on raising the concerns of women and girls, human rights in general and the importance of political inclusion within Afghanistan.

The UN's ultimate goal is a peaceful, stable Afghanistan integrated into the international community and fulfilling its human rights commitments, particularly those of women and girls, DiCarlo said ahead of the meeting.

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UN to host Doha talks on Afghanistan with Taliban participation - Yahoo! Voices

By Shivam Shekhawat and Rajoli Siddharth Jayaprakash

Since the terror attack at the Crocus city centre in Moscow, allegedly by the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP), in March 2024, Moscow has intensified efforts to prevent Afghanistans resurgence as a terror haven. One way of doing this, as Russian actions suggest is greater engagement with the Taliban.

Recently, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice sent aproposalto President Vladimir Putin to remove the group from the list of terror organisations where it has been listed since2003. Given that India and Russia cooperate on terrorism emanating from Afghanistan, it is important to understand the new developments in Afghanistan and India-Russia cooperation on counterterrorism.

Russias decision to remove the Taliban from its terror list, while not sudden, is viewed as alimited risk scenario. While falling short of recognition, with the group still under the UN Security Council sanctions, Moscows decision aims to gain leverage with the Taliban-run Islamic Emirate. Since the fall of Kabul, Russia has engaged with the Talibanits diplomats stayed back and its embassy remainedopen.

Moscow also accredited a Taliban-appointed diplomat in August 2022 and accepted a military attach in February this year. It invited the group for the Moscow Format consultations in 2021 and 2022 and the St Petersburg International Economic Forum twice, in 2022 and 2024. The countrys special envoy recently also hinted at Kabuls possibleinclusionin the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), subject to its recognition.

In its 2023 Concept of Foreign Policy, Russia articulated its long-term aim tointegrateAfghanistan into the Eurasianspacefor cooperation. There is, thus, also a strong geoeconomic factor behind Moscows overtures to the Taliban and the groups removal from the terror list is expected to facilitate bilateral economic ties. Projects like the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan railroad and the Afghan sector of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas can promote economic activity in Afghanistan, lead to improved regional connectivity, and enhance border infrastructure to check terrorist infiltration. For Moscow, a stable Afghanistan is seen as a firewall to prevent the spread of terrorism to Central Asia, and eventually into Russia.

India has a technical team stationed at its embassy in Kabul since June 2022. New Delhis engagement with the group has also increased, with Indian officials meeting IEAs Acting FM in March 2024 to discuss the provision of aid and the use of Chabahar by Afghan traders. The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment also held an online meeting with the Indian ports Global Limited to discuss theports use by tradersfrom the country. Taliban-appointed diplomats have not been formally accredited by India although, the Afghan Republic-era Ambassador and the consul general of Mumbai have resigned.

While highlighting the need for the Taliban to uphold women and minorities rights and establish an inclusive government, India has asserted that Afghanistan shouldnt be used as a haven for terrorist groups, placing the onus to counter the threat on the Taliban. It sees bothanti-India terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and transnational groupsas a major threat to its security and strategic interests. For India, fears about the presence of LeT and JeM in Afghanistan and their ability to destabilise Jammu and Kashmir have been a preeminent concern. The 13threport of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team mentioned that the JeM maintains training camps in Afghanistan, with some of them under the direct control of the Taliban and that the LeT provided finance and training support to the Talibans operations. For New Delhi, stability in Afghanistan is also important for its outreach to the Central Asian Republics.

The past two and a half years of the Islamic Emirates rule in Afghanistan have revealed the failure of the commitments made in the Doha agreement to prevent the use of Afghanistan as a haven and a springboard for coordinating transnational terror attacks. The UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Teams January 2024 report highlighted the close relationship between Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Al Qaeda also called on the groups supporters from all over the world to migrate to Afghanistan andemulate the practicesof the Taliban to launch a collective struggle against the Western and the Zionist forces. The group now has a presence in 10 of the 34 provinces and has opened new training camps, madrasas and safe houses in the country. While the Taliban enjoys a cordial relationship with some groups, including Al Qaeda, the increase in the strength of groups like the ISKP poses a significant challenge to their hold on power as well as to the overall security of the region.

Thus, many in the international community see establishing some sort of engagement with the Taliban as necessary to counter this threat. Moscows proposal to remove the Taliban from the proscribed list is also seen as an incremental step to have more space to manoeuvre. But whether the Taliban is capable and willing to effectively establish control over these terror groups is still anybodys guess. The ISKP is putting a renewed emphasis on South and Central Asia, expanding its outreach to these regions. The group has criticised theTalibans engagement with India withsome instances of both the ISKP and Al Qaeda commenting on the internal developments in New Delhi.

Indias cooperation with Russia is seen as providing New Delhi agatewayto engage with the Taliban. Indias meetings with some members of the Emirate last year are seen to be fructifying because of Russian assistance. Last month, Zamir Kabulov, Russias Special Envoy to Afghanistan, visited India at New Delhis invitation. The timing of the visitin the aftermath of the attack in Moscowindicated both Moscow and Indias shared concerns about the terror threat.

In the aftermath of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the trifecta of Iran, Russia, and China stepped up their engagement in the country, united with the mutual aim of keeping the US out of the region. Even though the US publicly refrains from seeing Afghanistan as a platform for strategic competition with Russia, the latter views it that way. Last month, Moscow and Beijing reaffirmed their resolve to prevent any attempts by the US or NATO to set up military infrastructure in the country and committed to increase cooperation in Afghanistan.

As discussed above, both India and Russia share common concerns in the country which provides them space to work together through both bilateral and multilateral channels. Experts deem the importance of the SCO- Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS) frameworkto counter the terror threat in Afghanistan, by allowing for the sharing of information about certain groups and individuals inimical to the member countries interests, tackling drug smuggling, conducting joint anti-terrorist exercises, etc.as an important means to enhance cooperation.

However, while India engages in a few initiatives led by Russia and is a member of the SCO, Russia, China, Iran, and Pakistan engage through groupings which exclude India. Their engagement with the group is also distinct from that of New Delhi, which is relatively more cognisant of balancing its commitment towards the interests of the Afghan people with its own strategic interests. Despite these differences, New Delhi must work with Russia to have a stake in how the security situation develops in the country.

The Taliban has refrained from acknowledging the full extent of the threat from the ISKP, with its senior leadersdownplayingit in public meetings and denying any need for externalsupport. As per the UN, the Talibans priority is majorly managing the internal threat the ISKP poses to their power rather than looking at the groups external actions. The Taliban increased its counter-insurgency efforts in February last year but the reduction in the number of attacks by the ISKP was not because of the effectiveness of the Talibans counter-terror capabilities but probably because of the ISKPs own strategy shift.

Meanwhile, the Taliban has also failed to address Chinas concerns about the presence of the Turkestan Islamic Party (also called the ETIM) on its border or the TTPs unceasing attacks in Pakistan. While in the initial months, Russia did appreciate the Talibans efforts at countering the ISKP it has highlighted that the group will have to do more. There were reports about the perpetrators of the attack in Iran and Trkiye receiving their training in Afghanistan. The close links between the Haqqani network and the ISKP are seen as one of the reasons why the group has failed to counter ISKPs growth.

Talibans reluctance or inability to deal with Afghan-based terror outfits for public posturing has now led to the international community increasing its engagement to pre-empt the instability that could arise in a situation where the Emirate is unable to manage the different groups. But greater engagement risks granting legitimacy to the group, even as there is no surety of any tangible counter-terrorism measures taken by Kabul and any movement towards implementation of promises of broad basing governance and womens rights and freedom.

So far, China, Russia, Iran, Trkiye and others have been attempting to fill the vacuum caused by the sudden and chaotic withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan in 2021. For India, while certain differences with Russia on the degree of engagement with the group and the latters growing bonhomie with China will persist, it will continue to maintain the momentum of its cooperation, to keep its foot in the game, as the two share mutual concerns security-related and economic stability concerns in the country.

About the authors:

Source: This article was published by the Observer Research Foundation.

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Navigating The Terror Threat: Russia And India In Afghanistan Analysis - Eurasia Review

Afghanistan will face South Africa in the semi-final as both teams aim to reach the final for the first time. Afridi, who himself delivered a player of the match performance in the 2009 semi-final, reminisced about that match and talked about the strengths of South Africa.

It is still fresh in my mind and brings a heartwarming smile whenever I reminisce about that time.

"It was one of my memorable performances, with a half-century and two wickets while going at four an over, and it helped the team reach the final, which we also won.

"This years competition will see a new finalist, Afghanistan or South Africa, which is refreshing.

"South Africa have match-winners of their own Quinton de Kock has exhibited some of his brilliant ball-striking skills, while Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada have shown great discipline with the ball.

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Nobody should be surprised if Afghanistan win the T20 World Cup: Shahid Afridi - ICC Cricket