MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd August, 2021) The opening ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympic Games will feature the flag of Afghanistan as a "sign of solidarity," as the Central Asian country's athletes will not be able to partake in the sporting event, news media reported on Monday.
International Paralympic Committee chief Andrew Parsons told reporters that a representative of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees would carry Afghanistan's flag into the Japan National Stadium during the opening on Tuesday night, the Kyodo news agency said.
Afghan athletes are stripped of the opportunity to travel to Japan as flights in and out of Afghanistan were suspended after the Taliban (banned in Russia as a terrorist organization) seized power in the country earlier in August.
