Tag: Afghanistan

  • Afghanistan Stuns Cricket World By Qualifying For T20 World Cup 2024 Semi-Finals After Defeating Bangladesh, Australia Knocked Out | Cricket News

    T20 World Cup 2024: Afghanistan has stunned cricket experts by reaching the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2024 after defeating Bangladesh by 8 runs (DLS) in their Super 8 match on Tuesday, June 25, at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, St.Vincent. This victory knocked Australia, the 2021 champions, out of the tournament following their losses to India and Afghanistan. Despite rain interruptions in the second innings, Afghanistan kept their cool.

    Finishing second in the table with 4 points and a net run rate of -0.267, Afghanistan secured two wins from three games. After a heavy 47-run loss to India, Rashid Khan’s team made a strong comeback. They will now play against Aiden Markram’s South Africa in the first semi-final on June 27 at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad.

    Afghanistan chose to bat first but struggled, posting 115 for 5 in 20 overs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran added 59 runs for the first wicket but couldn’t accelerate. Rishad Hossain dismissed Ibrahim, who scored a slow 18 from 29 balls. Gurbaz managed 43 runs with a strike rate of 78.18.

    The middle-order batsmen, including Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, and Karim Janat, also struggled. Skipper Rashid Khan’s unbeaten 19 off 10 balls, including three sixes, gave the innings some late momentum.

    Bangladesh’s chase was interrupted by rain, but with their score at 31 for 3 in 3.3 overs, they had a challenging target. Soumya Sarkar and Towhid Hridoy scored 10 and 14 runs respectively before falling to Rashid Khan. Despite Litton Das’s fighting 54 not out from 49 balls, Bangladesh fell short, being bowled out for 105 in 17.5 overs, chasing a revised target of 114 in 19 overs.

    Naveen-ul-Haq Gets Emotional

    Afghanistan’s pacer Naveen-ul-Haq, named Player of the Match, expressed his emotions, saying, “We have worked so hard over the past few years and we were dreaming and working for this day. I’m lost for words. (On his spell) We always knew that they were going hard in the powerplay to chase the total down in 12.1 overs so we knew we were in the game as long as we kept picking wickets. We had confidence that these wickets are not high-scoring wickets. As long as we don’t give easy runs we knew we would have a chance.”

    Afghanistan vs South Africa T20 WC 2024

    Group 2 winners South Africa will play against Afghanistan in the first semi-final, while Group 1 leaders India will face England in the second semi-final. South Africa vs. Afghanistan match will start at 8:30 PM local time on Wednesday, June 26, at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba. The India vs. The England match will be at 10:30 AM local time on Thursday, June 27, at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.

  • Over 300 Killed, 1000 Homes Destroyed By Flash Floods In Afghanistan, UN Says | world news

    More than 300 people reportedly died on Saturday due to flash floods in Afghanistan that destroyed over 1000 houses, according to AP, citing the UN Food Agency. The floods primarily struck the northern province of Baghlan; the region has suffered the most damage.

    The World Food Program announced that it is distributing fortified biscuits to individuals affected by recent floods in Afghanistan. A state-owned media outlet in neighboring Takhar province reported that the floods killed at least 20 people.

    The chief spokesperson for the Taliban government, Zabihullah Mujahid, posted on the social media platform ‘X’ that “hundreds… have succumbed to these calamitous floods, while a substantial number have sustained injuries.”

    Mujahid said that the extensive devastation has led to significant financial losses. He added that the worst-hit provinces were Badakhshan, Baghlan, Ghor, and Herat.

    He said that the administration has been ordered to mobilize all available resources to rescue people, transport the injured, and recover the dead.

    As per the Associated Press, the Taliban Defense Ministry said in a statement Saturday that the country’s air force has already begun evacuating people in Baghlan and has rescued a large number of people stuck in flooded areas and transported 100 injured people to military hospitals in the region. .

    In April, at least 70 people died from heavy rains and flash flooding in the country. Around 2,000 homes were also damaged.

  • Breaking: Indian Plane Heading To Moscow Crashes In Afghanistan; Casualties Feared

    As of now, official sources have not provided information on casualties or the cause of the crash.

  • WATCH: India Cricket Stars Seek Divine Blessings At Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar Temple On Makar Sankranti | cricket news

    After a resounding 2-0 lead in the ongoing IND vs AFG T20I series, the India cricket team stars, including Tilak Verma, Washington Sundar, Jitesh Sharma, and Ravi Bishnoi, embarked on a spiritual journey to seek blessings at the revered Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti. The cricketers actively participated in the sacred ‘Bhasma Aarti,’ a ritual performed between 3:30 AM and 5:30 AM at the Mahakaleshwar Temple. Expressing their joy, the players shared with ANI, “It was a pleasure to be here and to take the blessings of Lord Shiva.”

    Tilak, Sundar, Jitesh and Bishnoi attend ‘Bhasma Aarti’ performed at the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple in Ujjain.pic.twitter.com/jI7EO0zaNw

    — Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) January 15, 2024 Bhasma Aarti: A Unique Tradition

    The ‘Bhasma Aarti’ involves ash offerings and holds significant religious importance. Conducted during the auspicious Brahma Muhurta, it is believed that the wishes of the devotees who participate in this ritual are fulfilled. The temple priest, Sanjay Sharma, explained the elaborate ceremonies performed, including a holy bath of Lord Mahakal with Panchamrit.

    Cricket Stars’ Testimony

    The cricket players, seated in the temple’s Nandi Hall, expressed their gratitude, stating that it was a pleasure to be present and receive the blessings of Lord Shiva. This spiritual visit came on the heels of their victorious encounter against Afghanistan in Indore.

    Cricket Triumph at Holkar Stadium

    Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube showcased stellar performances as India chased down 173 to secure victory in the IND vs AFG 2nd T20I at Holkar Stadium. Despite an early setback with the dismissal of skipper Rohit Sharma, Jaiswal, along with contributions from Virat Kohli and Dube, led India to a commanding win.

    Bhasma Aarti Goes Viral

    A video capturing the four cricketers, Ravi Bishnoi, Tilak Varma, Washington Sundar, and Jitesh Sharma, participating in the ‘Bhasma Aarti’ went viral on social media. The unique ritual, symbolizing the transient nature of life, resonated with fans.

    Tilak Varma’s Challenge

    While the cricketing stars soaked in the divine vibes, Tilak Varma faced cricketing challenges. Despite a commendable T20I record, competition within the Indian side, including the return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, poses a challenge for him to secure a permanent spot in the playing XI.

  • Afghanistan Earthquake: 4.3 Magnitude Quake Jolts Fayzabad

    Two earthquakes of magnitude jolted Afghanistan’s Fayzabad on Wednesday, the National Center for Seismology (NCS) reported.

  • Shot in secrecy, Afghan film “Bread & Roses” on horrors faced by women gets Cannes premiere

    By PTI

    CANNES: Documentarian Sahra Mani’s “Bread & Roses”, produced by Jennifer Lawrence’s Excellent Cadaver, has brought to the Croisette the horrors that are being heaped upon women in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

    “Bread & Roses”, which premiered in the Special Screenings section of the 76th Cannes Film Festival, pieces together stories of Afghan women fighting for freedom, education and employment at grave risk to their lives.

    “Bread & Roses” is composed of footage and videos shot in secrecy in Afghanistan, often by women themselves.

    “The primary purpose of my film,” says Mani, “is to amplify the voice of women activists in Afghanistan…We want to tell the world about their situation.”

    “As we set out to make the film, we searched for women who were happy to be in it. Many volunteered,” Mani recounts. “They are surviving against the odds. Life is tough but these women are incredibly brave,” she adds.

    The focus of “Bread & Roses” is on three women – two activists in Kabul, and one in a safe house in Pakistan.”They are now all out of Afghanistan but even those that have escaped to safety have someone or the other left behind in the country,” says Mani.

    ALSO READ: Martin Scorsese debuts ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ in Cannes to thunderous applause

    Mani had been filming in Kabul since 2012.

    In 2021, she was at the Venice Film Festival to pitch a film titled “Kabul Melody”, about Afghanistan’s only music school where boys and girls studied together. While she was there, Kabul fell to the Taliban and she could not return home.

    “My film cannot show even a fraction of what is going on in Afghanistan. I could capture only a small part of the reality,” she says, adding that it isn’t empathy that the women of Kabul are looking for.

    “I want the world to be in solidarity with them.”

    Lawrence was on the stage to present the film along with Mani and Dr Zahra Mohammadi, who features prominently in “Bread & Roses”.

    “Zahra represents all educated and gifted Afghan women, doctors and professionals who have been stopped from working and forced by a totalitarian regime to stay confined within their homes,” says Mani.

    Lawrence had seen Mani’s 2019 documentary, “A Thousand Girls Like Me”, at HotDocs Toronto. It was about a young Afghan woman seeking justice after having been sexually abused by her father for years. Impressed by the film, Lawrence came on board to produce “Bread & Roses” with Mani’s company, Afghan Doc Film House.

    The film was completed just ahead of the Cannes Film Festival.

    “We sent the link to the festival at the very last minute and explained why we were late. I was really happy when I learnt that the film had been accepted,” says Mani.

    CANNES: Documentarian Sahra Mani’s “Bread & Roses”, produced by Jennifer Lawrence’s Excellent Cadaver, has brought to the Croisette the horrors that are being heaped upon women in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

    “Bread & Roses”, which premiered in the Special Screenings section of the 76th Cannes Film Festival, pieces together stories of Afghan women fighting for freedom, education and employment at grave risk to their lives.

    “Bread & Roses” is composed of footage and videos shot in secrecy in Afghanistan, often by women themselves.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “The primary purpose of my film,” says Mani, “is to amplify the voice of women activists in Afghanistan…We want to tell the world about their situation.”

    “As we set out to make the film, we searched for women who were happy to be in it. Many volunteered,” Mani recounts. “They are surviving against the odds. Life is tough but these women are incredibly brave,” she adds.

    The focus of “Bread & Roses” is on three women – two activists in Kabul, and one in a safe house in Pakistan.”They are now all out of Afghanistan but even those that have escaped to safety have someone or the other left behind in the country,” says Mani.

    ALSO READ: Martin Scorsese debuts ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ in Cannes to thunderous applause

    Mani had been filming in Kabul since 2012.

    In 2021, she was at the Venice Film Festival to pitch a film titled “Kabul Melody”, about Afghanistan’s only music school where boys and girls studied together. While she was there, Kabul fell to the Taliban and she could not return home.

    “My film cannot show even a fraction of what is going on in Afghanistan. I could capture only a small part of the reality,” she says, adding that it isn’t empathy that the women of Kabul are looking for.

    “I want the world to be in solidarity with them.”

    Lawrence was on the stage to present the film along with Mani and Dr Zahra Mohammadi, who features prominently in “Bread & Roses”.

    “Zahra represents all educated and gifted Afghan women, doctors and professionals who have been stopped from working and forced by a totalitarian regime to stay confined within their homes,” says Mani.

    Lawrence had seen Mani’s 2019 documentary, “A Thousand Girls Like Me”, at HotDocs Toronto. It was about a young Afghan woman seeking justice after having been sexually abused by her father for years. Impressed by the film, Lawrence came on board to produce “Bread & Roses” with Mani’s company, Afghan Doc Film House.

    The film was completed just ahead of the Cannes Film Festival.

    “We sent the link to the festival at the very last minute and explained why we were late. I was really happy when I learnt that the film had been accepted,” says Mani.

  • India to send 20,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan via Iran’s Chabahar port

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India and five central Asian countries on Tuesday asserted that Afghani soil must not be used for any terrorist activities even as New Delhi announced a fresh tranche of 20,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan which will be sent through the Chabahar Port in Iran.

    The first meeting of the India-Central Asia joint working group on Afghanistan in New Delhi also witnessed a resolve by the participating countries exploring ways to jointly counter threats of terrorism, extremism, radicalisation and drug trafficking in the region.

    A joint statement said the meeting emphasized the importance of the formation of a “truly inclusive and representative political structure” that respects the rights of all Afghans and ensures equal rights of women, girls and members of minority groups, including access to education.

    In December, India joined several other leading countries in criticising the Taliban’s decision to ban university education for women in Afghanistan, The joint statement said India announced the supply of 20,000 metric tonnes of wheat assistance to Afghanistan in partnership with the UN World Food Programme through Chabahar Port.

    Months after the Taliban captured power in Kabul in August 2021, India had announced an assistance of 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghan people as they were reeling under a severe food crisis.

    Subsequently, the consignments were sent to Afghanistan using the land route through Pakistan.

    Islamabad had granted the transit facility after months of discussions.

    The joint statement said the officials at the deliberations discussed regional threats of terrorism, extremism, radicalisation and drug trafficking and also deliberated on the possibilities to coordinate efforts to counter these threats.

    It said they emphasised that the “territory of Afghanistan should not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing any terrorist acts and reaffirmed that no terrorist organizations including those designated by the UNSC resolution 1267 should be provided sanctuary or allowed to use the territory of Afghanistan.”

    Besides host India, the meeting was attended by special envoys or senior officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

    Country representatives of the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) and the UN World Food Programme (UNWFP) also participated in the meeting.

    The joint statement said the officials exchanged views on the current situation in Afghanistan, including the political, security and humanitarian aspects.

    “While emphasising the respect for sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and non-interference in its internal affairs, the sides reiterated support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan,” it said.

    It said the country representative of the UNWFP in Afghanistan briefed the participants on the India-UNWFP partnership to deliver foodgrain assistance to Afghan people and made a presentation on the current humanitarian situation, including the aid requirements for the year ahead.

    “The sides took note of the current humanitarian situation and agreed to continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people,” the statement said. It said the country representative of the UNODC in Afghanistan highlighted the partnership of India and UNODC in fighting the menace of narcotics in Afghanistan and thanked New Delhi for “providing humanitarian aid for the Afghan drug user population.”

    “Upon their request, India offered capacity building training courses for the relevant stakeholders/partner agencies of UNODC and the relevant officials/stakeholders of Central Asian Republics in the field of countering illegal drug trafficking,” the statement said.

    Moreover, India and UNODC also agreed to partner for the efforts to counter drug trafficking, including the efforts for rehabilitation of the Afghan drug user population, especially the Afghan women and providing assistance in the development of alternate livelihood opportunities, a press statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said.

    The joint statement said the participants thanked India for holding the first Joint Working Group Meeting on Afghanistan at senior officials level and agreed to continue consultations in this format on a regular basis.

    India has not yet recognised the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and has been pitching for the formation of a truly inclusive government in Kabul besides insisting that Afghan soil must not be used for any terrorist activities against any country.

    India has been pitching for providing unimpeded humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the country.

    In June last year, India re-established its diplomatic presence in Kabul by deploying a “technical team” in its embassy in the Afghan capital.

    India had withdrawn its officials from the embassy after the Taliban seized power in August 2021 following concerns over their security.

    NEW DELHI: India and five central Asian countries on Tuesday asserted that Afghani soil must not be used for any terrorist activities even as New Delhi announced a fresh tranche of 20,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan which will be sent through the Chabahar Port in Iran.

    The first meeting of the India-Central Asia joint working group on Afghanistan in New Delhi also witnessed a resolve by the participating countries exploring ways to jointly counter threats of terrorism, extremism, radicalisation and drug trafficking in the region.

    A joint statement said the meeting emphasized the importance of the formation of a “truly inclusive and representative political structure” that respects the rights of all Afghans and ensures equal rights of women, girls and members of minority groups, including access to education.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    In December, India joined several other leading countries in criticising the Taliban’s decision to ban university education for women in Afghanistan, The joint statement said India announced the supply of 20,000 metric tonnes of wheat assistance to Afghanistan in partnership with the UN World Food Programme through Chabahar Port.

    Months after the Taliban captured power in Kabul in August 2021, India had announced an assistance of 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghan people as they were reeling under a severe food crisis.

    Subsequently, the consignments were sent to Afghanistan using the land route through Pakistan.

    Islamabad had granted the transit facility after months of discussions.

    The joint statement said the officials at the deliberations discussed regional threats of terrorism, extremism, radicalisation and drug trafficking and also deliberated on the possibilities to coordinate efforts to counter these threats.

    It said they emphasised that the “territory of Afghanistan should not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing any terrorist acts and reaffirmed that no terrorist organizations including those designated by the UNSC resolution 1267 should be provided sanctuary or allowed to use the territory of Afghanistan.”

    Besides host India, the meeting was attended by special envoys or senior officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

    Country representatives of the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) and the UN World Food Programme (UNWFP) also participated in the meeting.

    The joint statement said the officials exchanged views on the current situation in Afghanistan, including the political, security and humanitarian aspects.

    “While emphasising the respect for sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and non-interference in its internal affairs, the sides reiterated support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan,” it said.

    It said the country representative of the UNWFP in Afghanistan briefed the participants on the India-UNWFP partnership to deliver foodgrain assistance to Afghan people and made a presentation on the current humanitarian situation, including the aid requirements for the year ahead.

    “The sides took note of the current humanitarian situation and agreed to continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people,” the statement said. It said the country representative of the UNODC in Afghanistan highlighted the partnership of India and UNODC in fighting the menace of narcotics in Afghanistan and thanked New Delhi for “providing humanitarian aid for the Afghan drug user population.”

    “Upon their request, India offered capacity building training courses for the relevant stakeholders/partner agencies of UNODC and the relevant officials/stakeholders of Central Asian Republics in the field of countering illegal drug trafficking,” the statement said.

    Moreover, India and UNODC also agreed to partner for the efforts to counter drug trafficking, including the efforts for rehabilitation of the Afghan drug user population, especially the Afghan women and providing assistance in the development of alternate livelihood opportunities, a press statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said.

    The joint statement said the participants thanked India for holding the first Joint Working Group Meeting on Afghanistan at senior officials level and agreed to continue consultations in this format on a regular basis.

    India has not yet recognised the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and has been pitching for the formation of a truly inclusive government in Kabul besides insisting that Afghan soil must not be used for any terrorist activities against any country.

    India has been pitching for providing unimpeded humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the country.

    In June last year, India re-established its diplomatic presence in Kabul by deploying a “technical team” in its embassy in the Afghan capital.

    India had withdrawn its officials from the embassy after the Taliban seized power in August 2021 following concerns over their security.

  • ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ opera spotlights Afghan women

    By AFP

    Minutes before Afghan filmmaker Roya Sadat entered her first Seattle Opera production meeting for an adaptation of the novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” she learned that her hometown of Herat had fallen to the Taliban.

    The celebrated director’s first foray into opera started out as a look back at a painful chapter in her country’s history through Khaled Hosseini’s story of two women whose lives are marked by the Taliban’s brutal and repressive rule in the 1990s.

    But the surge back to power of the hardline Islamists in August 2021 brought the story roaring back to the present for Afghan women.

    And it added new weight to the production, as the Taliban again placed an ever-tightening vice on women’s liberties, despite vowing a departure from their infamous first reign.

    For Sadat, the Taliban return changed both her world and the one she wanted to create on stage.

    “When I started I thought, let’s try to have more symbolic elements and move between surreal expression and realities,” she told AFP ahead of the opera’s premiere on February 25 in Seattle, Washington.

    “It wasn’t just something that changed emotionally for me. There was a change to what I was thinking for the structure of the opera and I decided I should use more realism and bring out the reality of the situation,” in everything from colors, to costumes and set design.

    It’s a reality Sadat is intimately familiar with, having pushed boundaries to create under the first Taliban rule when arts were harshly controlled, before becoming one of the country’s first women filmmakers after their ouster in 2001.

    Her most successful films — including “A Letter to the President” and “Three Dots” — focus on women and their perseverance in the face of extreme odds.

    It’s a theme that courses through “A Thousand Splendid Suns” for Sadat, who said the opera is a narrative of the resilience of women, who are “always the first to suffer” from conflict and political violence.

    “Right now the only strong dissidence is from women in Afghanistan,” she said. “Even if the Taliban tortures them, even if they ban them… they have their voices.”

    With the opera, “We’re asking to please listen to this voice.”

     Weaving musical traditions 

    Voices take center stage in more ways than one in this iteration of Hosseini’s 2007 bestseller.

    Composer Sheila Silver was first drawn to the story as rich material for opera nearly 15 years ago, because of the characters of Laila and Mariam and the bond they form as their lives are upended by familial and political turmoil.

    “Opera is larger than life and they’re larger than life,” Silver said. “Their resilience and their love for one another sustains them and they survive through the power of their love.”

    Drawing inspiration from the story’s setting as she went to work with librettist Stephen Kitsakos, she wove Western operatic tradition with music at home in Afghanistan.

    Silver studied Hindustani music traditions — which she described as “the classical music of Afghanistan” associated with the country since the 16th century — and incorporated its melodic and harmonic structures.

    The opera opens with one of the tradition’s foundational drones under intertwined cello and bansuri — an ancient bamboo flute and one of the instruments added to the orchestra that create a sense of place even without sets or costumes.

     ‘Intersection of cultures’ 

    Creating an experience true to the story’s context was a priority, with Afghan cultural consultant Humaira Ghilzai brought on board in 2016.

    In a medium where performers’ voices are paramount, she consulted on elements including body language so as not to have “a bunch of people in Afghan dress walking and talking like Westerners” and to help draw the audience into “a different world.”

    Along with contributing to a slate of Seattle Opera events highlighting Afghan art and culture alongside the production, she has worked to bring the Afghan community into what — as it was for her — may be the unfamiliar territory of the opera house and encourage further “intersection of cultures.”

    She said with Sadat’s involvement, the work of imbuing the production with authenticity was shared.

    But with a heavy sense of responsibility, she wanted to draw attention to the “heartbreaking” situation in the country her family fled in 1979 during yet another violent chapter in its uneasy history, she added.

    “I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders with this production because the world has turned its gaze away from Afghanistan.”

    Minutes before Afghan filmmaker Roya Sadat entered her first Seattle Opera production meeting for an adaptation of the novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” she learned that her hometown of Herat had fallen to the Taliban.

    The celebrated director’s first foray into opera started out as a look back at a painful chapter in her country’s history through Khaled Hosseini’s story of two women whose lives are marked by the Taliban’s brutal and repressive rule in the 1990s.

    But the surge back to power of the hardline Islamists in August 2021 brought the story roaring back to the present for Afghan women.

    And it added new weight to the production, as the Taliban again placed an ever-tightening vice on women’s liberties, despite vowing a departure from their infamous first reign.

    For Sadat, the Taliban return changed both her world and the one she wanted to create on stage.

    “When I started I thought, let’s try to have more symbolic elements and move between surreal expression and realities,” she told AFP ahead of the opera’s premiere on February 25 in Seattle, Washington.

    “It wasn’t just something that changed emotionally for me. There was a change to what I was thinking for the structure of the opera and I decided I should use more realism and bring out the reality of the situation,” in everything from colors, to costumes and set design.

    It’s a reality Sadat is intimately familiar with, having pushed boundaries to create under the first Taliban rule when arts were harshly controlled, before becoming one of the country’s first women filmmakers after their ouster in 2001.

    Her most successful films — including “A Letter to the President” and “Three Dots” — focus on women and their perseverance in the face of extreme odds.

    It’s a theme that courses through “A Thousand Splendid Suns” for Sadat, who said the opera is a narrative of the resilience of women, who are “always the first to suffer” from conflict and political violence.

    “Right now the only strong dissidence is from women in Afghanistan,” she said. “Even if the Taliban tortures them, even if they ban them… they have their voices.”

    With the opera, “We’re asking to please listen to this voice.”

     Weaving musical traditions 

    Voices take center stage in more ways than one in this iteration of Hosseini’s 2007 bestseller.

    Composer Sheila Silver was first drawn to the story as rich material for opera nearly 15 years ago, because of the characters of Laila and Mariam and the bond they form as their lives are upended by familial and political turmoil.

    “Opera is larger than life and they’re larger than life,” Silver said. “Their resilience and their love for one another sustains them and they survive through the power of their love.”

    Drawing inspiration from the story’s setting as she went to work with librettist Stephen Kitsakos, she wove Western operatic tradition with music at home in Afghanistan.

    Silver studied Hindustani music traditions — which she described as “the classical music of Afghanistan” associated with the country since the 16th century — and incorporated its melodic and harmonic structures.

    The opera opens with one of the tradition’s foundational drones under intertwined cello and bansuri — an ancient bamboo flute and one of the instruments added to the orchestra that create a sense of place even without sets or costumes.

     ‘Intersection of cultures’ 

    Creating an experience true to the story’s context was a priority, with Afghan cultural consultant Humaira Ghilzai brought on board in 2016.

    In a medium where performers’ voices are paramount, she consulted on elements including body language so as not to have “a bunch of people in Afghan dress walking and talking like Westerners” and to help draw the audience into “a different world.”

    Along with contributing to a slate of Seattle Opera events highlighting Afghan art and culture alongside the production, she has worked to bring the Afghan community into what — as it was for her — may be the unfamiliar territory of the opera house and encourage further “intersection of cultures.”

    She said with Sadat’s involvement, the work of imbuing the production with authenticity was shared.

    But with a heavy sense of responsibility, she wanted to draw attention to the “heartbreaking” situation in the country her family fled in 1979 during yet another violent chapter in its uneasy history, she added.

    “I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders with this production because the world has turned its gaze away from Afghanistan.”

  • ‘Forgotten’ Afghan stories highlighted in two new films from Netflix, Nat Geo

    By AFP

    LOS ANGELES: The world’s focus has shifted to the war in Ukraine, but two major new documentaries aim to throw the spotlight back on Afghanistan, and the people left behind by the United States’ rapid withdrawal last year.

    National Geographic’s “Retrograde” follows an Afghan general who tried in vain to hold back the Taliban advance in 2021, while Netflix’s “In Her Hands” tells the story of the country’s youngest woman mayor, who had to flee as the Islamists took over.

    “We’ve forgotten about this story — when was the last time we discussed the war in Afghanistan, or read an article about it?” said “Retrograde” director Matthew Heineman.

    “Obviously there’s still some coverage of it, but… not that many people are talking about this country that we left behind.”

    Zarifa Ghafari, the former mayor spotlighted by “In Her Hands,” told AFP that back under the Taliban, Afghanistan is “the only country around the world nowadays where a woman can sell their body, their children, anything else, but are not able to go to school.”

    But at international political meetings, “Afghanistan is out of those discussions.”

    Both movies begin in the months before the US withdrawal, as their subjects tried to build a safer and more egalitarian future for their country.

    The two films end with their central characters forced to watch from abroad as the Taliban rapidly erases all their work.

    “Retrograde” began as a documentary with rare inside access to US special forces.

    ALSO READ | Public executions, amputation to return as Afghan leader orders full enforcement of Islamic law

    In one early scene, US troops are shown having to destroy — or retrograde — their equipment and wastefully fire off excess ammunition that was sorely needed by their Afghan allies.

    After the Americans left their base in Helmand, Afghan general Sami Sadat agreed to let Heineman’s cameras stay and follow him, as he took charge of the ultimately doomed effort to stave off Taliban advances.

    In one scene, Sadat — stubbornly determined to rally his men to fight on as the situation crumbles around them — chides his aide for bringing to his war office persistent reports of nearby Afghan troops downing their weapons.

    “Every neon sign was saying ‘stop, give up, this is over,’ and he had this blind faith that maybe, just maybe, if he held on to Lashkar Gah or Helmand, that they could beat back the Taliban,” recalled Heineman.

    Sadat eventually had to flee, and the filmmakers shifted their lens again, to desperate scenes at Kabul airport as Afghans fought for spaces on the last American planes out.

    ALSO READ | Banned from education, ‘idle’ Afghan girls are married off

    “It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever witnessed in my career,” added Heineman, who was nominated for an Oscar for 2015’s “Cartel Land.”

    “Discussions around wars in public policy and foreign policy, they’re often talked about and discussed without the human element,” said the director.

    “One of the things I’ve tried to do throughout my career is take these large, amorphous subjects and put a human face to them.”

    ‘Murder’

    Former mayor Ghafari had survived assassination attempts and seen her father gunned down by the Taliban before she too left Afghanistan as the Islamists moved in.

    “Talking about that moment, I’m still not able to stop crying… it was something that I really never wanted to do,” said Ghafari, who drew the Taliban’s ire by campaigning for girls’ education after being appointed mayor of Maidan Shahr aged 24.

    “I had some personal responsibilities, especially after the murder of my dad… to help secure my family.”

    The directors of “In Her Hands,” which counts Hillary Clinton among its executive producers, returned to Afghanistan and filmed Ghafari’s former driver Massoum, now unemployed and living under the Taliban.

    In unsettling scenes, he is seen bonding with the same fighters who once attacked the car in which he was driving Ghafari.

    “The story of Massoum represents the story of all Afghanistan’s crisis… why people are feeling betrayed,” said Ghafari.

    ‘Share their pain’

    Though the conflicts in Afghanistan and Ukraine are vastly different in nature, both films offer a cautionary tale about what can happen once the West’s focus shifts.

    ALSO READ | Afghanistan: Taliban arrests women activists, journalists in Kabul

    “Obviously, that’s happened throughout history, and will continue to happen long into the future. And so what can we learn from this experience?” said Heineman.

    Ghafari said: “Whatever happens in Ukraine and happened in Ukraine, it’s the same thing that we have been going through for like 60 years.

    “The same thing, again and again. So we share their pain.”

    LOS ANGELES: The world’s focus has shifted to the war in Ukraine, but two major new documentaries aim to throw the spotlight back on Afghanistan, and the people left behind by the United States’ rapid withdrawal last year.

    National Geographic’s “Retrograde” follows an Afghan general who tried in vain to hold back the Taliban advance in 2021, while Netflix’s “In Her Hands” tells the story of the country’s youngest woman mayor, who had to flee as the Islamists took over.

    “We’ve forgotten about this story — when was the last time we discussed the war in Afghanistan, or read an article about it?” said “Retrograde” director Matthew Heineman.

    “Obviously there’s still some coverage of it, but… not that many people are talking about this country that we left behind.”

    Zarifa Ghafari, the former mayor spotlighted by “In Her Hands,” told AFP that back under the Taliban, Afghanistan is “the only country around the world nowadays where a woman can sell their body, their children, anything else, but are not able to go to school.”

    But at international political meetings, “Afghanistan is out of those discussions.”

    Both movies begin in the months before the US withdrawal, as their subjects tried to build a safer and more egalitarian future for their country.

    The two films end with their central characters forced to watch from abroad as the Taliban rapidly erases all their work.

    “Retrograde” began as a documentary with rare inside access to US special forces.

    ALSO READ | Public executions, amputation to return as Afghan leader orders full enforcement of Islamic law

    In one early scene, US troops are shown having to destroy — or retrograde — their equipment and wastefully fire off excess ammunition that was sorely needed by their Afghan allies.

    After the Americans left their base in Helmand, Afghan general Sami Sadat agreed to let Heineman’s cameras stay and follow him, as he took charge of the ultimately doomed effort to stave off Taliban advances.

    In one scene, Sadat — stubbornly determined to rally his men to fight on as the situation crumbles around them — chides his aide for bringing to his war office persistent reports of nearby Afghan troops downing their weapons.

    “Every neon sign was saying ‘stop, give up, this is over,’ and he had this blind faith that maybe, just maybe, if he held on to Lashkar Gah or Helmand, that they could beat back the Taliban,” recalled Heineman.

    Sadat eventually had to flee, and the filmmakers shifted their lens again, to desperate scenes at Kabul airport as Afghans fought for spaces on the last American planes out.

    ALSO READ | Banned from education, ‘idle’ Afghan girls are married off

    “It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever witnessed in my career,” added Heineman, who was nominated for an Oscar for 2015’s “Cartel Land.”

    “Discussions around wars in public policy and foreign policy, they’re often talked about and discussed without the human element,” said the director.

    “One of the things I’ve tried to do throughout my career is take these large, amorphous subjects and put a human face to them.”

    ‘Murder’

    Former mayor Ghafari had survived assassination attempts and seen her father gunned down by the Taliban before she too left Afghanistan as the Islamists moved in.

    “Talking about that moment, I’m still not able to stop crying… it was something that I really never wanted to do,” said Ghafari, who drew the Taliban’s ire by campaigning for girls’ education after being appointed mayor of Maidan Shahr aged 24.

    “I had some personal responsibilities, especially after the murder of my dad… to help secure my family.”

    The directors of “In Her Hands,” which counts Hillary Clinton among its executive producers, returned to Afghanistan and filmed Ghafari’s former driver Massoum, now unemployed and living under the Taliban.

    In unsettling scenes, he is seen bonding with the same fighters who once attacked the car in which he was driving Ghafari.

    “The story of Massoum represents the story of all Afghanistan’s crisis… why people are feeling betrayed,” said Ghafari.

    ‘Share their pain’

    Though the conflicts in Afghanistan and Ukraine are vastly different in nature, both films offer a cautionary tale about what can happen once the West’s focus shifts.

    ALSO READ | Afghanistan: Taliban arrests women activists, journalists in Kabul

    “Obviously, that’s happened throughout history, and will continue to happen long into the future. And so what can we learn from this experience?” said Heineman.

    Ghafari said: “Whatever happens in Ukraine and happened in Ukraine, it’s the same thing that we have been going through for like 60 years.

    “The same thing, again and again. So we share their pain.”

  • Post Afghanistan, foreign terrorist numbers up in JK; overall numbers below 200: CRPF DG

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI:  An uptick has been noticed in the number of foreign terrorists operating in Jammu and Kashmir post the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan but the overall strength of militants in the valley is low and can be capped below 200, outgoing CRPF DG Kuldiep Singh said on Thursday.

    He said all the security forces operating in Kashmir are working in a coordinated manner and terrorist incidents have gone down post the abrogation of Article 370 from the erstwhile state in 2019.

    The CRPF director general, during a press conference, was asked about the killing of locals and Kashmiri Pandits by unknown and unseen terrorists to which he said that it was a “challenge” but all the forces were effectively tackling it.

    “This is a challenge. After Afghanistan, this challenge has grown in many forms and you can see it. Also, the number of foreign terrorists goes up and sometimes down. However, the total number of terrorists in J&K is less now.  It is under 200 now as compared to the earlier times when it used to be 230-240,” Singh said.

    The Taliban took over the reins of Afghanistan in August last year. The officer, from the 1986 batch of the Indian Police Service (IPS) of West Bengal cadre, had taken charge as the CRPF DG last year in March. He will retire from service on Friday.

    He said there is a “great threat” of ‘sticky bombs’ when it comes to the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir but all the forces deployed there rose to it and ensured an incident-free Amarnath Yatra that concluded in August.

    Talking about the challenge of taking out the stipulated one unit (called a company comprising about 70-80 personnel) from each battalion for training, rest and recuperation annually, the DG said this issue was a challenge and they “try to do it but cannot do it always”.

    We also take up with the home ministry that training companies should not be touched…so we keep trying for that and in case we cannot, we get the training done for the troops locally within their own battalion, he said.

    Singh said the CRPF has got about 200 vehicles plated with bullet-resistant material for operational use in Jammu and Kashmir and Naxal violence-affected areas while 125 armoured vehicles have been procured for the troops.

    The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is the country’s largest paramilitary with an estimated strength of about 3.25 lakh personnel.

    It is designated as the lead internal security force with its main operational theatres being Left Wing Extremism affected states, counter-terrorist combat in the Kashmir valley and counter-insurgency operations in the northeast.

    NEW DELHI:  An uptick has been noticed in the number of foreign terrorists operating in Jammu and Kashmir post the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan but the overall strength of militants in the valley is low and can be capped below 200, outgoing CRPF DG Kuldiep Singh said on Thursday.

    He said all the security forces operating in Kashmir are working in a coordinated manner and terrorist incidents have gone down post the abrogation of Article 370 from the erstwhile state in 2019.

    The CRPF director general, during a press conference, was asked about the killing of locals and Kashmiri Pandits by unknown and unseen terrorists to which he said that it was a “challenge” but all the forces were effectively tackling it.

    “This is a challenge. After Afghanistan, this challenge has grown in many forms and you can see it. Also, the number of foreign terrorists goes up and sometimes down. However, the total number of terrorists in J&K is less now.  It is under 200 now as compared to the earlier times when it used to be 230-240,” Singh said.

    The Taliban took over the reins of Afghanistan in August last year. The officer, from the 1986 batch of the Indian Police Service (IPS) of West Bengal cadre, had taken charge as the CRPF DG last year in March. He will retire from service on Friday.

    He said there is a “great threat” of ‘sticky bombs’ when it comes to the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir but all the forces deployed there rose to it and ensured an incident-free Amarnath Yatra that concluded in August.

    Talking about the challenge of taking out the stipulated one unit (called a company comprising about 70-80 personnel) from each battalion for training, rest and recuperation annually, the DG said this issue was a challenge and they “try to do it but cannot do it always”.

    We also take up with the home ministry that training companies should not be touched…so we keep trying for that and in case we cannot, we get the training done for the troops locally within their own battalion, he said.

    Singh said the CRPF has got about 200 vehicles plated with bullet-resistant material for operational use in Jammu and Kashmir and Naxal violence-affected areas while 125 armoured vehicles have been procured for the troops.

    The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is the country’s largest paramilitary with an estimated strength of about 3.25 lakh personnel.

    It is designated as the lead internal security force with its main operational theatres being Left Wing Extremism affected states, counter-terrorist combat in the Kashmir valley and counter-insurgency operations in the northeast.