"You are saying ISIS, Taliban, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram's Islam is not true Islam. Then tell me which countries practice true Islam! The truth is, not a single Muslim country treats women as equal human beings." - Taslima Nasreen
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Afghanistan’s star leg spinner Rashid Khan appealed to the world community to stop the cycle of violence.
Reacting to the deadly terror attack at Kabul airport on Thursday, Rashid wrote on Twitter, “Kabul is bleeding again, stop killing Afghan please.”
Afghanistan is a strange war-hit and wind-swept country today where long ago great towns and men and women flourished.
Under Taliban between 1996 and 2001, music, singing and other kinds of entertainment and sports were banned.
But there are paradoxes too.
The rise of Afghan Cricket coincided with the Taliban rule between 1996 and 2001 specially because many Afghan refugees in neighbouring Pakistan, another cricket-crazy nation, had picked up the sport.
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| Blogger: But not against Taliban |
Some were in fact trained in Peshawar cricket fields.
Theirs is not a case of also play. In fact, the Afghanistan team is ranked 7th in Twenty20 International (T20I) ahead of the likes of Bangladesh and two world champions Sri Lanka and West Indies.
Taliban leaders have shown liking for cricket.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board was formed in 1995 and it became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2001. Since then the Afghanistan cricket team has become an integral part of the cricket community around the world.
Most of the Afghan players are currently participating in the “Hundred” tournament in the United Kingdom.
Players such as Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman and Mohammad Nabi are worried these days on whether man-made devastation back home would hit their parents and family members.
Rashid is representing Trent Rockets, Mujeeb playing for Northern Superchargers and Nabi is representing London Spirits. A few Afghan cricketers have also been part of some Indian Premier League (IPL) teams.
The Afghan cricket board CEO Hamid Shinwari says cricket is still 'safe' and would not be a casualty in this season of power transform through guns and bullets.
"Taliban loves cricket...," says Shinwari.
Of course, originally the Taliban regime in Afghanistan had banned cricket as they had banned most other sports.
But in early 2000 there was a change of heart and the government wrote to the Pakistan Cricket Board asking for the support for an Afghan application to the ICC.
In 2001, the Afghan side took part in a four-match tour of Pakistan, visiting Peshawar and Rawalpindi, and the team also visited Pak again in 2003 and 2004.
In 2004, Afghanistan played in the Asian Cricket Council Trophy in Kuala Lumpur - the regional qualifying competition for the ICC Trophy - and to the surprise of many even had managed a win over hosts Malaysia.
On June 14, 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had congratulated people of Afghanistan for their cricket team playing first test match against India at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
"Congratulate the people of Afghanistan as their cricket team plays their first international test match. Glad that they have chosen to play the historic match with India. Best wishes to both teams! May sports continue to bring our people closer and strengthen ties," Mr Modi had tweeted.
And the journey continues, as they put it.
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| No sports: It's Survival instinct |
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan no longer exists, says envoy to Kabul on return 'home'
New Delhi:
Obviously the situation in war-devastated and Taliban-captured Afghanistan and adjoining regionis 'fluid' and India on August 17 withdrew its ambassador and diplomatic staff from Kabul, flying out around140 people in C-17 Globemaster heavy lift aircraft.
Ambassador Rudrendra Tandon on arrival to India told reporters at Jamnagar airbase,
“As you know, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan no longer exists and the situation is quite fluid now".
This was in reference to the Taliban already announcing that the new regime would be officially called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan - in effect meaning 'restoration' of the old name when they ruled between 1995 and 2001.
In the evening in Delhi, Tandon was specially summoned for a high level meeting presided over by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.
Mr Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security which was attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and alsoNSA Ajit Doval and foreign secretary Harsh V Shringla. and ambassador Tandon.
Dr Jaishankar, who is in New York, met UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.."Our discussions focused on Afghanistan, following upon the Security Council meeting yesterday," he tweeted.
On Monday at the UNSC meet, India has sought to preempt Pakistani designs vis-a-vis its possible influence on Taliban and said there ought to be "zero tolerance for terrorism" and Afghanistan lands should not be used by terror groups.
There should be "zero tolerance for terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and it is ensured that the territory of Afghanistan is not used by terrorist groups to threaten or attack any other country. Then Afghanistan's neighbours and the region would feel safer," India's Permanent Representative at the UN, TS Tirumurti said.
These remarks could upset certain quarters - who have been traditionally supportive of Taliban and their frontline and violence-prone designs.
“In view of the prevailing situation in Kabul, it was decided that our embassy personnel would be immediately
moved to India. This movement has been completed in two phases and the ambassador and all other India-based personnel have reached New Delhi [on Tuesday] afternoon,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.
Tandon had taken up his assignment in Kabul only in August 2020.
An estimated 280-300 Indian nationals, including those working for foreign firms and from different professions,were believed to be still in Afghanistan.
Air India has temporarily suspended its flights to Kabul. The MEA has opened a help desk and willensure that anyone stuck in Kabul is brought back, officials said.
Asked about the tentative number of Indian nationals who are still in Afghanistan, Tandon said it would be difficult to hazard a guess as Indians often didn’t register themselves with the embassy in Kabul despite repeated advisories.
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar swung into action on Monday monitoring
the Afghanistan situation and ensuring safety and security of Indians, especially people belonging to Hindu and Sikh communities.
In a series of tweets, Dr Jaishankar informed that he has held tele talks with US counterpart Antony Blinken
and discussed "latest developments in Afghanistan".
He had underlined the urgency of restoring airport operations in Kabul and also tweeted to say that India "deeply appreciated" the American efforts underway in this regard.
In a tweet marking it to Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Union MInister Hardeep Singh Puri, Dr Jaishankar wrote: "We are in constant touch with the Sikh and Hindu community leaders in Kabul. Their welfare will get our priority attention".
Embassy not closed 'technically'
Sources say the Indian embassy in Kabul was technically not shut down as it is still being manned by local Afghan staff. Similar arrangements have been made for the consulates in Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif, from where too Indian staff were pulled out.
The Home ministry has reviewed visa provisions in view of the situation in Afghanistan and introduced a new category of electronic visas called “e-Emergency X-Misc Visa” to fast-track applications by Afghan nationals.
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