Awaz the voice

  Basit Zargar/Srinagar After three decades, the Hindus in Kashmir took out a traditional procession on Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna, through marketplaces of Srinagar and also some other towns of the Valley. The procession passes through Lal Chowk While tableaux depicting Krishna and his consort Radha, people followed it as it passed through some of the narrow markets of Srinagar and especially Lal Chowk square. Children dressed as Radha and Krishna against the backdrop of clock tower in Lal Chowk Many young Kashmiris who have grown in the years of militancy have seen this celebration for the first time.  Kashmiri women break into Heikat, a local celebratory dance Men and women broke into an occasional dance. People were also seen singing devotional songs. The men too shake a leg Reports of similar celebrations are also pouring in from towns of north Kashmir like Handwara and Baramulla. The procession passing The procession passing through congested parts of Srinagar old t

Tokyo Paddler Bhavina Patel assured India a historic first Paralympic medal in table tennis while archer Rakesh Kumar produced his personal best score of 699 to be ranked third in men's Individual Compound Open to make it to the pre-quarterfinals as a top medal contender on what turned out to be a very good day for India at the Tokyo Paralympic Games on Friday. Bhavina made history as she stormed into the semifinals of women's singles Class 4 competition and assured India of at least a bronze medal, by upsetting Rio 2016 gold medallist Borislava Peric Rankovic of Serbia in straight games 3-0 (11-5,11-6, 11-7) in just 18 minutes.    Earlier, Bhavina, who became the first Indian para-TT player to reach the pre-quarterfinals when she defeated Megan Shackleton of Great Britain in a Group A match, continued to blaze a historic path as she beat Brazil's Joyce de Oliveira in straight games to reach the quarterfinals.    Bhavani, the 34-year-old first-time Paralympian from Ahmedaba

Washington/Kabul US President Joe Biden has said that he will avenge the twin bombings at the Kabul airport that have killed at least 103 people, including 13 American service member, adding the ongoing evacuation in Afghanistan will continue uninterrupted. The number of US service members killed in the attacks has risen to 13, with 18 more injured troops currently in the process of being flown out of the country, according to the latest update by Bill Urban, public affairs officer of the US Central Command. "We will respond with force and precision in our time, in a place we choose in a manner of our choosing," Biden said when delivering remarks from the White House late Thursday, following the bombings at the Hamid Karzai International Airport earlier in the day. The blast at the airport was followed by another one at the adjacent Baron Hotel, whose details are being figured out by the US military. The Wall Street Journal, citing a senior Afghan health official, reported th

New Dehi The United States, India and 61 other countries have issued a joint statement in the Special Session of the Human Rights Council on Afghanistan’s situation mooted by Spain and Australia seeking full rights for the Afghan women and immediate end to the targeted killings of women woking for the rights of women in the country under the Taliban rule.  The joint statement given to the Commissioner of the UNHRC Michelle Bachalet says, “We are troubled by reports of a reduction in rights and access to services and public spaces for Afghan women and girls.   "Women’s empowerment benefits all Afghans. The protection of Afghan women’s and girls’ human rights must be an integral part of the political solution. We call upon all States and all parties to create and support an enabling environment for all women to have a meaningful participation in this process as acknowledged in HRC resolution 45/28. We further call upon all parties to commit to protecting human rights workers and adv

New Delhi The Madhya Pradesh Police have lodged a case against a group of persons for beating Tasleem Ali, a bangle seller of Indore in full public view after a video of the incident had gone viral on the social media. Indore SP Aushutosh Bagri said an FIR has been registered in the case and the identity of the attackers is being ascertained through the video clip that was in circulation. The video clip shows a young person being beaten by a couple of persons in the middle of a busy road, others ransacking his box and breaking the bangles as he continues to plead for mercy and help. The bangle seller later said he was robbed of Rs 10,000, his mobile phone and Bangles worth Rs 25,000 were destroyed by the mob. Ashutosh Bagri said that stringent action will be taken against the accused. In the clip, people are heard saying,"Take whatever you want. He should not be seen in this area anymore." Later, the same man invites people to come beat up the bangle seller, in another video

Tokyo India's largest batch of para-athletes consisting of shooters, archers, and swimmers arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday morning for the Paralympic Games. Twenty-eight members of the Indian contingent, including athletes and officials, had left for the Paralympics on Monday. Upon arrival in Tokyo, the members of the Indian contingent expressed happiness. "Our largest batch of 17 Para-Athletes consisting of shooters, archers, swimmer & Javelin thrower have safely arrived at Tokyo Airport. Let's hear what they have to say before heading for #Paralympics village!" SAIMedia tweeted. The Paralympic Games are scheduled to be held between August 24 and September 5. The shooting contingent has 17 members including 10 shooters. It is the biggest shooting contingent that the country has ever sent to the Para Games. Manish Narwal, Deepender Singh, Singhraj, Swaroop Mahavir Unhalkar, Deepak Saini, Sidhartha Babu, Akash, Rahul Jhakar, Rubina Francis, and Avani Lekhara are the In

New Delhi A group of prominent civil society members said have expressed their concern on the “euphoria” among some sections of Indians over the Taliban getting control of Afghanistan. Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD), that includes eminent Bollywood personalities like Shabana azami, Javed Akhtar and Naseerudin Shah has said in a statement, they reject the idea of a “theocratic state anywhere in the world.” The statement signed by 128 eminent persons says, “It questions the legitimacy of the ‘Islamic Emirate’ the Taliban seek to impose on the war-torn, war-weary people of Afghanistan who are yearning for peace.” The signatories of the IMSD statement include journalists, lawyers, students, academicians, civil society activists and members of the film fraternity It said: “It is “one thing to welcome the ouster of the occupiers and the overthrow of their puppets, quite another to celebrate the return to power of those who with their barbaric version of Islam have contributed in

New Delhi The Taliban have extended their amnesty to deposed Afghan President and Vice President Ashraf Ghani and Amrullah Saleh, respectively, allowing the two to return to Afghanistan if they so wished. In an exclusive interview with Geo News, senior Taliban leader Khalil ur Rahman Haqqani said "there is no enmity" between the group and Ghani, Saleh and former National Security Advisor, Hamdullah Mohib. "We forgive Ashraf Ghani, Amrullah Saleh and Hamdullah Mohib," said Haqqani, adding that enmity between the Taliban and the three was only on the basis of religion. "We forgive everyone from our end; from the general (who fought in the war against us) to the common man," he said. Haqqani urged people fleeing the country not to do so, adding that the "enemy" was spreading propaganda that the Taliban will exact revenge on them. "Tajiks, Balochs, Hazaras and Pashtuns are all our brothers," he added. Haqqani said the Taliban were not the o

Shaista Fatima/New Delhi Marwah’s father was serving the Afghan Army when for the first time Taliban rose to power in Kabul in 1996. She remembers her father being abducted and tortured by the Taliban, “We didn’t see Abba for 11 months; he was freed with the help of a mediator and since that time we have been living in shadows.”   Marwah in her early thirties is among the Afghan refugees who have managed to fly out of their homeland and reach Delhi. Living with her Afghan friends in South Delhi, Marwah’s mind is reliving the moments of the first takeover of her country by the Taliban 20 years back.   She recollects the days when her family was called infidels. “We were labelled kafirs and blacklisted…”   Marwah told Awaz-the Voice that back then her sister was forced to marry a Taliban fighter and she, as a six-year-old, was forced to wear hijab (a scarf wrapped around the head), “The women weren’t allowed to leave their houses, even during a medical emergency the male members had to s

Wellington New Zealand reported 11 new Delta cases of COVID-19 in the community on Friday, bringing the total number of cases associated with the current Auckland community outbreak to 31. All cases have or are being transferred safely to a managed isolation facility under strict infection prevention and control procedures, including the use of full PPE, according to the Ministry of Health. Of the 11 new cases, eight are in Auckland and three in Wellington, the first time this community outbreak seen out of Auckland. The three in Wellington had recently travelled to Auckland and visited a location of interest there, said a ministry statement. Among the 31 total cases, 19 cases are now confirmed as part of the Auckland outbreak, with the remaining 12 under investigation to confirm the linkage to the outbreak. Initial assessment shows most cases have a plausible link, it said. The Auckland cluster is linked to the Sydney outbreak in Australia - a returnee from Sydney who arrived in Auckl

Mohammed Safi Shamsi/Kolkata Yasmin Nigar Khan, 50, otherwise a common resident in the Karim Hussain Lane, is drawing attention that even a celebrity would feel envious of. Living in a narrow bye lane close to the city’s famous Park Circus 7-point Crossing Yasmin is the cynosure of the media. This is related to the dramatic changes in Afghanistan where the Taliban have taken control after 20 years.  “ Subah 10 baje se raat 11 tak, I am talking to press. Channel main baitha dete hain, studio main takleefde hota hai  (I am talking to the press all day. It’s painful to attend chat shows in studios),” Yasmin, who looks tired and yet manages to smile tells Awaz-the Voice. Yasmin heads All India Pakhtoon Jirga-e-Hind, a body that works for the welfare of Pakhtoons living in India, and was set up by her father Khan Lala Jan Khan in 1949. Khan was adopted as his grandson by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, also known as Badshah Khan and Frontier Gandhi. Like the people in the rest of the world, Afghan

New Delhi Afreen Khan’s art is unique: she uses feathers as her canvass and brings alive these otherwise discarded elements of nature with the strokes of her brush. Hailing from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, Afreen, 24, was born to paint. It seems since she was a child, she painted nature around her all day. This passion for colours and fascination for feathers saw her graduate in arts from the Aligarh Muslim University and later do her Master degree in Fine arts from Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi. Afreen Khan’s art has many takers not only in India but abroad too. She is living off well by selling her works online. Though in the beginning life was difficult as she had no one to guide her, yet with encouragement from parents, things started falling in place and today she is known as the feather artist of India, Everyone is keen to know how Afreen manages to get feathers. She collects bird feathers from the roadside, fields and parks. Besides, she is also in contact with bird keepers for the sup

Dubai India and Pakistan will be locking horns on October 24 in a group-stage encounter of the upcoming T20 World Cup, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed on Tuesday. The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE and Oman will get underway from October 17, with the final to be played in Dubai on November 14. The tournament will begin with the Round 1 Group B encounter between hosts Oman and Papua New Guinea on October 17, with Scotland and Bangladesh, the other teams in Group B, clashing in the evening match. Ireland, Netherlands, Sri Lanka, and Namibia - making up Group A - will be in action in Abu Dhabi the next day, with Round 1 matches running till October 22. The top two teams in each group will proceed to the Super 12 stage of the tournament, beginning on October 23. The second round of the tournament - the Super12 stage - will get underway in Abu Dhabi on October 23, with the Group 1 contest between Australia and South Africa. This will be followed up with an evening

New Delhi Hundreds of women who fled their villages to escape war between the Afghan soldiers and the Taliban militants and had taken shelter at Shahr-e-Naw Park in Afghanistan capital Kabul, have gone missing, claimed Naved (name changed), an Afghan citizen, who lives in Delhi. Tens of thousands of citizens from several provinces of Afghanistan, had fled to escape battles that have overwhelmed their towns and villages and had taken shelter at Shahr-e-Naw Park. "I am saying this with whole responsibility that hundreds of women who had sheltered at Shahr-e-Naw Park are missing. Families are searching them for the last several days, but they could  not be found. This is the situation of Afghanistan is right now," he told IANS. Naved said he left his country around eight years back, but he still has good sources of information in Afghanistan as he was associated with a private American security firm that used to involve local citizens to "pass the information". He said