11 Afghan women killed in stampede for Pakistan visa
Israeli strike hits southern Syria
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A long-awaited trial opened on Wednesday of three police officers for the 2015 killing of a prominent rights lawyer in Diyarbakir, Turkey’s biggest Kurdishmajority city. Tahir Elci, who campaigned for Kurdish rights, was shot in the head in broad daylight on November 28, 2015, during armed clashes between Kurdish militants and police. He was head of Diyarbakir's bar association at the time. The three police officers are accused of ‘causing death by foreseeable negligence’ and face between two to six years in prison if convicted. A fourth individual is being tried in absentia on the same charge.
Jalalabad, Afghanistan - At least 11 women were killed on Wednesday in a stampede at an Afghan football stadium where thousands of people had gathered to apply for Pakistani visas, authorities said.
The incident unfolded at the stadium in Jalalabad city, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province, after large crowds assembled in a bid to secure travel permission after the nearby Pakistani consulate resumed services following a seven-month hiatus due to the pandemic.
To avoid overwhelming the visa centre, applicants had been directed to Jalalabad’s nearby football stadium to hand over passports and paperwork, provincial governor’s spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said.
“Unfortunately this morning tens of thousands of people had come to the football stadium which led to the tragic incident,” Khogyani said.
Khogyani and provincial hospital spokesman Zaher Adel put the death toll at 11 women, while Nangarhar provincial council member Naser Kamawal said 15 people had died and 15 more were injured.
Eyewitness Abdul Ahad said women had been given priority to stand at the front of the crowd.
“When the officials announced that the gates were opening in the morning, everybody rushed to enter the stadium to be the first to deliver their passports,” Ahad said. “The women, most of them elderly, who were in the front fell and could not get up. It was chaotic.”
Pakistan’s Embassy in Kabul expressed ‘deep grief and sadness’ over the incident.
‘The Embassy remains committed to ensure smooth and effective management of visa applicants at our end,’ a statement read.