End the ban: France backs return of intellectually disabled athletes to Winter Paralympics

LANS-EN-VERCORS, France (AP) — On a well-groomed, snow-covered slope in the Montagnes de Lans ski area near the French city of Grenoble, a group of Alpine skiers take aggressive lines through the gates. Their trajectories are precise, the tempo is fast and the technique polished.

Among this competition squad are world champions — some with multiple medals to their names.

Yet none will line up in the starting gates at the Milan Cortina Paralympic Games, where more than 650 athletes will compete in 79 medal events from March 6.

The reason? They have cognitive disabilities and are not eligible to compete.

“The Paralympics is a dream, like for any other high-level competitor,” Mélanie De Bona said after completing her slalom session. “I train and make a gigantic amount of sacrifices for that.”

De Bona, who turns 30 later this month, is a 13-time world champion across multiple disciplines. She suffers from severe dysphasia, a condition that has affected her language and learning processing.

Training on the same slope, Antoine Maure has autistic disorders that nobody can notice when he skis — the 31-year-old is a two-time world champion, in combined and slalom.

Like any elite athletes, De Bona and Maure train tirelessly. Maure's physical preparation includes cycling, running and strength training. Ahead of each season, he works in the gym to optimize his conditioning and fully commit to his two passions — “speed on snow and competition,” he told The Associated Press.

Yet they remain unwelcomed at winter sport's showcase event.

“The Games are a goal for any athlete. So why not them?," asks Jérémie Barnier, the coach who supervised their training session that morning, providing his skiers with sound advice and encouragement between each run.

“They deserve this visibility and this recognition," he said.

Intellectually impaired athletes have been sidelined from the Winter Paralympics for more than two decades following a major cheating scandal. Their exclusion is seen as a major injustice by French officials, who are now pushing to ensure France becomes the nation that welcomes them back when the country hosts the 2030 Games in the Alps. The push is supported by the French government and Parliament.

Athletes with intellectual disabilities last competed at the Winter Games in 1998, in Nagano. The story behind their absence traces back to the 2000 Paralympics.

In Sydney, Spain’s gold medal-winning basketball team in the intellectually disabled category included players later found not to have disabilities. Only two of 12 team members met eligibility requirements.

The revelation led to medal forfeitures, and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) also suspended the International Sports Federation for Persons with an Intellectual Disability (INAS), now known as Virtus, in 2001.

The ban remained until a reliable classification system was put in place. In 2009, the IPC voted to readmit athletes with intellectual disabilities into sanctioned competitions.

Following proposals from the international federations of para athletics, para swimming and para table tennis, 14 medal events for athletes with intellectual disabilities were approved for inclusion in the London 2012 Summer Paralympics.

With France set to host the 2030 Games, athletes, federation leaders and elected officials are calling for the opening of Alpine and Nordic para skiing to competitors with intellectual disabilities and make the Paralympics truly inclusive.

They claim there are no major obstacles, saying that regulations, classifications, venues and infrastructure are ready.

“Athletes are excluded for the Games and that makes them sad.” said Sandrine Chaix, the delegate for disability in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the French region which will host the 2030 events. “They are high-level athletes, but nobody speaks about them.”

Chaix says France has the expertise required for a smooth return. The country hosted several major events showcasing athletes with cognitive disabilities — including the 2023 Virtus Global Games in Vichy, which brought together more than 1,000 competitors.

France also organized the Virtus world Nordic and Alpine skiing last year.

According to Chaix, a return to the Paralympics would help fight stigma in wider society and inspire young people.

“When a young autistic person sees an autistic athlete on TV winning a medal, it’s incredibly inspiring,” she said. “Even just a bronze medal can be a huge breakthrough for inclusion.”

At the Milan Cortina Paralympics, athletes will compete in six sports — para Alpine skiing, para biathlon, para cross-country skiing, para ice hockey, para snowboard and wheelchair curling.

As French officials argue that all conditions for the return of athletes with a learning disability are already in place, the IPC told the AP it can only consider a medal event for inclusion if it is proposed by an international federation with a sport on the program.

For each Paralympic Games, summer or winter, it determines medal events based on proposals from international federations. Since 2009, however, the IPC says that no international federation has proposed medal events for athletes with cognitive disabilities in the Paralympic Winter Games.

“Should international federations propose medal events for athletes with intellectual impairments for the Paralympic Winter Games, then they will certainly be considered and assessed on their merits,” the IPC said.

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) told the AP it is supporting the process of including athletes with intellectual impairments “potentially as early as 2030.”

It said a crucial condition is ensuring that they can compete safely and at an adequate performance level on existing para-Alpine and para-Nordic courses.

“Once classification has been finalized and approved by the IPC, and provided that the performance level of the athletes concerned allows safe participation on Paralympic courses, FIS will submit a detailed report and a recommendation to Virtus and the IPC regarding the next steps,” it said.

De Bona is hopeful.

“What keeps me holding on is 2030," she said.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Coach Jeremie Barnier chats with his athletes at the end of a training ski session in Lans-en-Vercors, near Grenoble, France, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Coach Jeremie Barnier and his athletes remove the stakes after a training ski session in Lans-en-Vercors, near Grenoble, France, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Antoine Maure skis during a training session in Lans-en-Vercors, near Grenoble, France, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Coach Jeremie Barnier, left, supervises a training session with Melanie De Bona and Antoine Maure, in Lans-en-Vercors, near Grenoble, France, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Melanie De Bona skis during training in Lans-en-Vercors, near Grenoble, France, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Iran and Iranian-backed militias fired missiles at Israel and Arab states, apparently hitting the U.S. Embassy compound in Kuwait, while Israel and the United States pounded targets in Iran as the war expanded Monday with statements of defiance and increasing casualties.

In the chaos, the U.S. military said that Kuwait “mistakenly shot down” three American F-15E Strike Eagles during a combat mission.

At least 555 people have been killed in Iran so far by the U.S.-Israeli campaign, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said, and more than 130 cities across the country have come under attack. In Israel, 11 people have been killed, with 31 in Lebanon, according to authorities.

Iranian cleric Alireza Arafi, delivering his first public remarks since he was made a member of Iran’s temporary leadership council, said he hoped that a new supreme leader would be “quickly” appointed to replace Ali Khamenei.

Here is the latest:

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke Monday to the United Arab Emirates president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss “the unprecedented tragic events in the Middle East in the context of the American-Israeli aggression against Iran and Tehran’s harsh retaliatory actions,” the Kremlin said.

Putin noted that Russia had sought to help facilitate a settlement of the situation regarding the Iranian nuclear program, but those efforts were “thwarted by an unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign U.N. member state, in violation of the fundamental principles of international law.”

Al Nahyan described the Iranian strikes on the Emirates as completely unjustified, noting that the country’s territory wasn’t used for launching attacks on Iran. Putin expressed his readiness to convey these signals to Tehran and to provide all possible assistance to stabilize the overall situation in the region, the Kremlin said.

Greece is sending two frigates and two fighter jets to Cyprus after attacks against a British base on the island.

Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said one of the frigates was equipped with an anti-drone system recently tested in a European Union-led deployment in the Red Sea to protect international shipping.

”(Greece) will contribute in every possible way to the defense of the Republic of Cyprus, in order to confront the threats and unlawful actions taking place on its territory,” Dendias said.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi expressed hope that a diplomatic process will resume with regard to Iran’s nuclear program, highlighting the “indispensable role” that the U.N. nuclear watchdog could play in such a scenario.

“My hope...is that we will be back at the negotiating table sooner rather than later. It is obvious that after this military conflict ends — and we all hope that this will be very, very soon — we will still need to have a long, durable solution, which will provide a sense of predictability and a sense of certainty for Iran and neighboring countries,” Grossi told reporters after the special session of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna.

The IAEA chief underlined that “there is a recognition” that “there will have to be a dialogue at some point.”

QatarEnergy, one of world’s top natural gas producers, said it is halting production of liquified natural gas, taking one of the world’s top suppliers off the market.

“Due to military attacks on QatarEnergy’s operating facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City and Mesaieed Industrial City in the state of Qatar, QatarEnergy has ceased production of liquefied natural gas and associated products,” it said. “QatarEnergy values its relationships with all of its stakeholders and will continue to communicate the latest available information.”

It offered no timeline for restoring its production.

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said Hezbollah's rocket attack on Israel were “illegal” acts, adding that such activities give Israel a pretext to destroy the country.

The government held a five-hour Cabinet meeting to discuss the Hezbollah action that triggered massive Israeli retaliation and the displacement of tens of thousands of people.

Information Minister Paul Morcos cited Aoun as saying that what happened overnight “was not to defend Lebanon or protect the Lebanese people. What are witnessing is building collapsing on their residents as they sleep.”

Israel’s rescue services said at least 15 people were injured by Iranian missiles in the southern city of Beer Sheba.

Searches are ongoing for additional victims. Several missile barrages targeted Israel from Iran on Monday.

Long-haul carrier Etihad Airways said in an update that all flights to and from its base in the Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi, will be now suspended until 2 p.m. local time on Tuesday.

Etihad, like fellow Gulf airlines Emirates and Qatar Airways, mainly serves long-haul travelers whose plans have been disrupted by the closure of regional airspace.

The price of oil jumped as tanker disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz raise fears about supply shortages from the Persian Gulf.

U.S. oil rose to about $71.97 a barrel on Monday and Brent climbed to about $78.46. Higher prices increase the risk of costlier gasoline and pricier goods.

The U.K. maritime center also reported attacks on vessels and warned of heavy electronic interference. Oman said a drone boat hit an oil tanker and killed one mariner. Saudi media said drones hit near Ras Tanura and Saudi Arabia shut the refinery as a precaution.

Traffic through the strategic Strait of Homruz has sharply dropped following U.S.-Israel weekend strikes in Iran. MarineTraffic.com said that transit through the chokepoint has fallen by 70% since Saturday.

It said that it has noticed changes in vessels’ navigation in the past three days including “U-turns, idling, reduced speeds, and last-minute diversions.”

Iranian cleric Alireza Arafi has delivered some of his first public remarks since he was made a member of Iran’s temporary leadership council.

In remarks aired on state television, Arafi said he hoped that a new supreme leader would be “quickly” appointed. The 88-seat Assembly of Experts, a group of mostly hard-line clerics, will choose former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s replacement. But no clear successor is in place.

Arafi is serving on a temporary leadership council that includes President Masoud Pezeshkian and Iran’s hard-line judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei. Arafi added that state institutions were continuing to function “under these extremely difficult circumstances.”

Iran has targeted a power plant in Qatar, the country’s defense ministry said. There were no casualties.

The ministry reported that Iran launched two drone attacks, one targeting a water tank at a power plant in Mesaieed, in southern Qatar, and another targeting an energy facility operated by Qatar Energy in the industrial city of Ras Laffan.

The U.S. military said Monday that Kuwait “mistakenly shot down” thee American F-15E Strike Eagles during a combat mission as Iran attacked the country.

The U.S. military’s Central Command said the combat included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones — the first time Iran’s aging combat fleet has been engaged in the war.

“The U.S. Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses,” it said. “All six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in stable condition. Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defense forces and their support in this ongoing operation.”

A bomb-carrying drone boat exploded against a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Monday, killing one mariner on board, Oman said.

The state-run Oman News Agency said the attack occurred in the Gulf of Oman off Muscat, the sultanate’s capital. It identified the vessel as the MKD VYOM. It said the dead crew member was from India.

Iran has been threatening vessels approaching the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

Ali Bahreini, Iran’s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, said the “use of force and the deliberate killing of civilians” is a violation of the UN Charter and condemned the recent strikes by the U.S. and Israel.

“The ongoing unlawful military aggression against Iran exemplifies the dominance of raw power over the principles of human rights,” he said.

Air defenses in the United Arab Emirates have intercepted drones over Abu Dhabi, officials said.

Debris fell on a warehouse and a commercial facility in the city’s industrial areas. There was minor damage but no injuries, according to a statement posted on X by the Abu Dhabi Media Office.

The Jordanian Civil Aviation Authority says airspace will be closed between 6 p.m. (1500 GMT) to 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) daily until further notice. It called the closure “partial and temporary.”

Displaced families from southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs sought refuge in schools in the capital, after Israel launched its deadliest barrage of airstrikes in more than a year. It came hours after Hezbollah fired missiles across the border.

At a public school hastily converted into a temporary shelter, families arrived carrying mattresses, plastic bags and bundles of clothing. People sat on sidewalks beside their belongings, some smoking quietly as they waited for space to open inside.

Hussein Abu Ali, who fled with his wife and children, described the moment the strikes hit. “My son began shaking and crying. ... Where are you supposed to go? I stepped outside, then back in because I was afraid of shooting in the air. I gathered my children and went down to the street.”

Israeli attacks killed at least 31 people and wounding 149, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russia remains “in constant contact with the Iranian leadership” while also keeping up communication with the Persian Gulf states.

Peskov said Moscow was deeply disappointed to see the U.S. and Israel attack Iran despite the progress made in the U.S.-Iranian talks.

He said Russia will continue to take part in the U.S.-mediated talks on Ukraine and praised Washington’s efforts to help negotiate an end to the conflict.

Iran’s ambassador to the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog alleged on Monday that U.S.-Israeli airstrikes targeted Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment site.

Israel and the U.S. have not acknowledged strikes at the site, which the United States bombed during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June.

Iran’s Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Reza Najafi, told journalists he condemned what he called the “unlawful, criminal and brutal” attacks by the U.S. and Israel against Iran.

“Again they attacked Iran’s peaceful safeguarded nuclear facilities yesterday,” he said. “Their justification that Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons is simply a big lie.”

Israel’s air force carried out new airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs Monday. The blasts were heard in parts of the Lebanese capital.

The strikes hit an area where the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group has a giant hall used to hold rallies. It was not immediately clear if there were casualties.

Saudi Aramco temporarily shut down its Ras Tanura oil refinery near Dammam on Monday after it was targeted by Iranian drones.

Saudi state television reported the decision, citing what it described as an “official source.” It added there were no casualties from the fire and its decision was a precautionary one.

The refinery has a capacity over half a million barrels of crude oil a day.

An Iranian university student reached by The Associated Press on Monday described a heavy security presence in the northern city of Babol and nearby towns.

Communications into Iran remain unstable with internet access mostly blocked. The student, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of security fears, said he had briefly regained an internet connection and was able to talk with friends in nearby towns where a similar security presence was reported. Babol is 136 miles (220 kilometers) north of the capital, Tehran.

The student said armed riot police were on the streets Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday as crowds gathered to mourn the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Mariano Grossi on Monday said that “up to now” the International Atomic Energy Agency has “no indication that any of the nuclear installations, including the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, the Tehran Research Reactor or other nuclear fuel cycle facilities” in Iran have been damaged or hit.

Addressing a special session of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna, he said that the IAEA continues to try and contact the Iranian nuclear regulatory authorities via the IAEA’s own Incident and Emergency Center “with no response so far,” given the limitations in communications caused by the conflict.

Grossi urged military restraint, warning that Iran and many other countries in the region that have been targeted militarily have “operational nuclear power plants and nuclear research reactors, as well as associated fuel storage sites,” which increases the threat to nuclear safety.

So far, he said, “no elevation of radiation levels above the usual background levels has been detected in countries bordering Iran.”

The Iranian Red Crescent Society said Monday that the U.S.-Israeli airstrike campaign targeting Iran has killed at least 555 people so far in the Islamic Republic.

The society added that 131 cities have come under attack so far in the war.

Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura oil refinery came under attack Monday from drones, the kingdom’s defense ministry said, with authorities downing the incoming aircraft.

A Saudi military spokesman made the announcement on the state-run Saudi Press Agency.

Online videos from the site appeared to show thick black smoke rising after the attack. Even successfully intercepted drones cause debris that can spark fires and injure those on the ground.

Ras Tanura, near Dammam, has a capacity over half a million barrels of crude oil a day.

Israel’s military has launched an offensive campaign in Lebanon that could include “many prolonged days of combat ahead,” Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the military chief of staff, said on Monday morning.

Hezbollah launched several rockets and drones toward Israel overnight, and Israel responded by striking dozens of targets in Beirut and southern Lebanon, he said.

“Hezbollah will pay a very heavy price for this,” Israel’s military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said. He added that Israel is keeping “all options on the table” for a possible ground operation in Lebanon.

Israel has called up more than 100,000 reservists since the war with Iran began on Saturday.

Israel also recommended that residents of 53 villages in southern Lebanon evacuate, causing massive traffic jams.

Germany will not actively participate in military action against Iran but will consider defending its soldiers stationed on multinational military bases in Jordan and Iraq if they get attacked, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Monday morning.

“The federal government has no intention of participating” in the conflict, Wadephul told Deutschlandfunk public radio. "We also do not have the necessary military resources.”

Multinational bases where German troops are stations in Irbil in northern Iraq and Al-Azraq in Jordan were targeted on the weekend, the German military said.

The soldiers on site were not injured and are safe, the German news agency dpa reported.

Strikes killed three people in the western city of Sanandaj early Monday, Iran’s state-run news agency said.

IRNA said the strikes hit two residential sites without providing further details.

Several U.S. warplanes crashed Monday in Kuwait, the country’s Defense Ministry said, with all the pilots safely bailing out.

The ministry did not elaborate on what caused the crashes but it came during an intense period of Iranian fire targeting the country.

The Kuwaiti Defense Ministry said the pilots were taken to a hospital for checkups and their condition was stable.

The U.S. military’s Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Turkey has temporarily closed its border with Iran to crossings by Iranians visiting for short trips, the Trade Ministry said, following public concerns that the tensions could trigger migration flows.

A ministry statement said that in a mutual agreement reached with Iran, Turkey is allowing its citizens and third country nationals to enter from Iran but short trips by Iranians have been temporarily suspended.

Meanwhile, commercial freight crossings between Turkey and Iran are continuing “in a controlled manner,” the ministry said.

Israel said crossings to Gaza, where much-needed humanitarian aid passes, will remain closed while the war with Iran continues.

COGAT claimed that Gaza has sufficient stockpiles of food for an “extended period” though some organizations, including the World Central Kitchen which operates soup kitchens across Gaza, have warned that they are running out of supplies.

“We need food deliveries every single day to feed hungry families who are not part of this war,” chef Jose Andres, the founder of World Central Kitchen, wrote on X.

Fire and smoke rose from inside the U.S. Embassy compound in Kuwait after an Iranian attack on the small Mideast nation on Monday.

The United States had earlier issued an urgent warning to Americans there to take cover and remain indoors.

It said: “Do not come to the Embassy,” without elaborating.

Iranian state media published footage showing damage at the Gandhi Hospital in Tehran.

Associated Press journalists heard several loud explosions Monday morning in Irbil, the capital city of Iraq’s semiautonomous region of Kurdistan.

The World Health Organization called for the sparing of civilians and health care facilities in the Middle East amid a regional conflict triggered by Israeli-US strikes on Iran over the weekend.

“The protection of civilians and health care must be absolute,” Hanan Balkhy, regional dietitian at WHO wrote on social media.

“All parties must … ensure medical facilities remain protected.”

Strikes across Iran continued into Monday, with one apparently taking Iranian state television off air.

Witnesses said an attack in northern Tehran’s Niavaran neighborhood struck one of the transmitters used for Iranian state TV.

Since then, its satellite signals have dropped.

State media had said hospitals and residential areas had been hit in strikes by the Americans and Israelis.

The United Arab Emirates is shutting the country’s main stock exchanges for the start of the trading week as the regional war intensifies.

The country’s Capital Market Authority said the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Dubai Financial Market would be closed Monday and Tuesday.

It says it will closely monitor the regional situation and take any further steps as necessary.

Another market, the Nasdaq Dubai, also said it was halting trading both days.

Dubai is the Gulf’s main business hub, though the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi is also an important regional financial center and home to some of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds.

Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon after Hezbollah attacked it have killed at least 31 people, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Monday.

The Hezbollah attack and the Israeli retaliatory strikes expand the ongoing war gripping the Mideast after the U.S. and Israel launched an airstrike campaign targeting Iran.

The Health Ministry said that the strikes also wounded 149 people.

It said about two-thirds of those killed were in southern Lebanon.

Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said a Shaheed-type drone caused “minor material damage” to military installations inside the U.K.’s RAF Akrotiri air base on the island’s southern coast.

Christodoulides said in a brief national address that the drone struck just past midnight Monday.

Overnight, airstrikes were reported across Iran.

Elsewhere, explosions were heard in Dubai on Monday.

In Bahrain, the Interior Ministry said sirens sounded across the country as it urged residents to “head to the nearest safe place.”

And in Kuwait, authorities said debris fell on its Ahmadi oil refinery, slightly injuring two workers there.

The state-run KUNA news agency said earlier that Kuwait’s forces had thwarted a drone attack early Monday.

A top Iranian security official on Monday said: “We will not negotiate with the United States.”

Ali Larijani made the statement on X, responding to a report from Qatar’s Al Jazeera news network.

The comment comes as an American and Israeli airstrike campaign continues to target Iran.

Iran and its militia allies have expanded their attacks over the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A state TV communications tower and building destroyed Sunday during a strike as part of the ongoing joint U.S.–Israeli military campaign are seen in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iraqi Shiites hold pictures of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by a U.S. airstrike in Tehran, during a symbolic funeral, in Najaf, Iraq, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)

Israeli security forces inspect the scene of a direct hit on a road following an Iranian missile strike in Jerusalem, Sunday, March 1, 2026.(AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Smoke rises up after a strike in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows a F/A-18E Super Hornet makes an arrested landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) after a mission in support of Operation Epic Fury, on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy via AP)

People watch from a rooftop as a plume of smoke rises after a strike in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A black plume of smoke rises from a warehouse at the industrial area of Sharjah City in the United Arab Emirates following reports of Iranian strikes in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)