Never forget about the victims: Rashid Khan sends out a prayer on Afghan Independence Day
Star cricketer Rashid Khan has said he is praying for a” peaceful, developed and united ” Afghanistan on Afghanistan’s Independence Day. Rashid had previously asked for help when the Afghan government capitulated to the Taliban this month.
“Today let us take some time to value our nation and never forget the sacrifices. We hope and pray for the peaceful , developed and United nation INSHALLAH #happyindependenceday,” Rashid said in his tweet.
The 22-year-old, who has captained Afghanistan in Test cricket, also tweeted “Peace” on the day that the Taliban captured Kabul.
Prior to that, Rashid appealed to the world community to not abandon Afghanistan as the Taliban ran over to the country. “Dear World Leaders! My country is in chaos, thousand of innocent people, including children & women, get martyred everyday, houses & properties being destructed.Thousand families displaced.. Don’t leave us in chaos. Stop killing Afghans & destroying Afghanistan. We want peace,” he tweeted.
Afghanistan has been in turmoil since the Taliban’s resurgence and eventual take over of Kabul which happened on August 15. Thousands have crowded Kabul airport in hopes of being airlifted from the country while women across the nation have expressed fear of the Taliban considering how they brutally suppressed women’s rights in their previous reign.
Earlier, Khalida Popal, former captain of the Afghanistan women’s football team urged female football players to take down their identities, burn their kits, and delete their photos for their safety.
The co-founder of the Afghan women’s football league has always been vocal about women empowerment and earlier, used her voice to encourage young Afghan women “to stand strong, to be bold, to be visible”.
But this time, the message is different. “Today I’m calling them and telling them, take down their names, remove their identities, take down their photos for their safety. I’m even telling them to burn down or get rid of your national team uniform,” she said to Reuters. “And that is painful for me, for someone as an activist who stood up and did everything possible to achieve and earn that identity as a women’s national team player.
