THE HAZARA'S IN BALOCHISTAN.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Hazaras-in-Balochistan/211365475560851
It is a great privilege for me, a Hazara, to write the foreword to this most absorbing and comprehensive work, which is the result of about five years unrelenting and dedicated study and research by Mohammad Owtadolajam, who served as Director, Iran Cultural Centre, in Quetta and Karachi, since 1971.
The Hazara tribe has been living in Afghanistan for centuries its migration in the past was not of an exceptional nature and followed the normal pattern of populations migrating to neighboring countries for different reasons. This remained the case till the 1880’s. What caused an increase in the flow of migrants from Afghanistan like an uncontrollable flood were the battles fought by them in 1872 onwards with Amir Abdul Rehman, the ruler of Afghanistan.
The Hazara tribal leaders blamed the Afghan government for these battles and accused it of committing atrocities and levying punitive and innumerable heavy taxes on them.
The Hazaras were determined not to tolerate the calculated pressure and violence designed to uproot them, many sources record that the Hazaras were politically semi independent so much so that they did not follow the policy of the former Afghan rulers.
The Hazaras were determined not to tolerate the calculated pressure and violence designed to uproot them, many sources record that the Hazaras were politically semi independent so much so that they did not follow the policy of the former Afghan rulers.
The petty rulers of the Hazarajat, as far as possible avoided clashes with them or as Amir Abdul Rehman, the ruler of Afghanistan at that time, admitted that these non-rulers had not been able to subdue the Hazaras, Amir Abdul Rehman in his book Taj has referred to the Hazaras as “rebellious and stubborn”. According to him they were the cause of disorder and unrest in the country and caravans and travelers faced insecurity on the routes passing through the Hazarajat, Most part of central Afghanistan was occupied by the Hazaras who successfully plundered such caravans and travelers.
In 1307, Amir Abdul Rehman subjugated and vanquished the disobedient Afghan elements and other tribal leaders of areas surrounding Kabul and the border areas of Afghanistan. While returning from Afghan Turkistan (the northern province of Afghanistan), he appointed Sardar Abdul Quddus Afghan the governor of the Hazaras.
It was on this very occasion when one of the military columns proceeding to Kabul from Turkistan was attacked by the Hazaras of Shaikh Ali in Besud. A considerable number of soldiers were killed and wounded and their arms and equipment seized. Those who escaped hurried to Kabul and reported the matter to the Amir…..
The history of the Hazaras in Pakistan is brief and revolves around a few events mainly concerning their service in the army and emergence of Pakistan as a country. They had lived in Quetta and other parts of the subcontinent in small numbers much before their uprising against Amir Abdul Rehman Khan…..
Since the inception of Pakistan, Hazaras have done their best to reap the benefits of freedom, through it was only in 1962, that they were formally recognized by the government as citizens of Pakistan and tribesmen of Balochistan.
Their children, male and female flock to schools and colleges. Quite a number of educated Hazaras rose to ranks as civilian officers in various departments of the government, on the technical side as engineers, mechanics, doctors, teachers, accountant, architect, computer engineer and technicians and on the administrative side as deputy commissioners, chairman of municipalities, tahsildars, secretaries, lecturers etc. On the military side there are a score or more in the army, navy and air force in ranks from lieutenants to colonels.
In the India-Pakistan war of 1965, the Hazaras played a significant part. In fact the war was fought under General Mohammad Musa Khan Hazara who was then the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan army and is recognized by many as the hero of that war. In other ranks too the Hazaras fought on all fronts and suffered a number of casualties amongst them
Persecution of Hazara people refers to systematic discrimination, ethnic cleansing andgenocide of Hazara people, who are primarily from the central highland region of Hazarajat inAfghanistan. Up to half a million Hazara also live in the city of Quetta in neighbouringPakistan. The persecution of Hazara people dates back to the late 19th century during the notorious reign of Emir Abdur Rahman (1880-1901), who killed, expelled and enslaved many thousands.[1] It is believed that at least half of the population of Hazarajat were killed by Abdur Rahman's forces, which also resulted in mass exodus of these people to neighbouringBalochistan of British India[2] and Khorasan in Eastern Iran. The persecution continued throughout the 20th century in various forms. Many Hazara were coerced into hiding their identities and surrendering their lands to Pashtun tribes.[1] Hazara people have also been the victims of massacres by Taliban in Afghanistan since 1995. Although the situation improved relatively in Afghanistan with the ousting of Taliban from power in 2001, hundreds of Hazara have been victimised in Quetta, Pakistan, in recent years.
Contents[hide] |
[edit]Afghanistan
Hazara people are historically the most restrained ethnic group and have witnessed slight improvements in the circumstances even with the setup of modern Afghanistan. The discrimination against this ethnicity has subsisted for centuries[1] by Pashtuns and other ethnic groups.[3] Until the 19th century, Hazaras were the most prevalent ethnic group in Afghanistan, constituting almost 67% of the population.[1] More than half were massacred in 1893 during the reign of Abdur Rahman Khan. They subsequently faced severe political, social and economic tyranny and denial of basic civil rights.[1][3]
[edit]Afshar
Main article: Afshar Operation
In February 1993, a two-day military operation was conducted by the Islamic State of Afghanistangovernment and the Saudi-backed Sunni Wahhabi Ittihad-i Islami militia led by Abdul Rasul Sayyaf. Ittihad-i Islami during that time was allied to the government of Burhanuddin Rabbani. The military operation was conducted in order to seize control of the Afshar district in west Kabul where the ShiaHezb-e Wahdat militia backed by Iran (and allied to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Sunni Hezb-i Islami backed by Pakistan) was based and from where it was shelling civilian areas in northern Kabul. The operation also intented to capture Wahdat leader Abdul Ali Mazari. The Afshar district, situated on the slopes of Mount Afshar west of Kabul, is a densely populated district. The area is predominantly inhabited by Shia Hazara people. The Afshar military operation escalated into what became known as the Afshar massacre when theSaudi backed Wahhabi militia of Ittihad-e-Islami went on a rampage through Afshar, killing, raping, looting and burning houses. Two out of nine Islamic State sub-commanders, Anwar Dangar (later joined the Taliban) and Mullah Izzat, were also reported as leading troops that carried out abuses. Some commanders tried to stop abuses from taking place. The Islamic State government in collaboration with the then enemy militia of Hezb-e Wahdat as well as in cooperation with Afshar civilians established a commission to investigate the crimes that had taken place in Afshar. The commission found that around 70 people died during the street fighting and between 700 and 750 people were abducted and never returned by Abdul Rasul Sayyaf’s men. These abducted victims were most likely killed or died in captivity.[4][5] Dozens of women were abducted during the operation as well.[6]
[edit]Mazar-i-Sharif
Some 8000 men, women and children were massacred by Taliban in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan in August 1998. Human rights organizations reported that the dead were lying on the streets for weeks before Taliban allowed their burial due to stench and fear of epidemic.
[edit]Robatak Pass
The pass connecting the settlements of Tashkurgan and Pule Khumri is known as Robatak Pass. A mass murder was carried out there by Taliban in May 2000 in which 31 people were reported dead. Twenty-six of the victims were Ismaili Hazara from Baghalan province. Their remains were found to the northeast of the pass, in a neighborhood known as Hazara Mazari, on the border between Baghlan and Samngan provinces. The victims were detained four months before their execution by Taliban troops between January 5 and January 14, 2000.[7][8]
[edit]Yakawlang
In January 2001 Taliban committed a mass execution of Hazara people in Yakawlang District of Bamyan province, Afghanistan. TheHuman butchery started on January 8 and lasted for four days which took the lives of 170 men. Taliban apprehended about 300 people, including employees of local humanitarian organizations. They were grouped to various assemblage points where they were shot dead in public view. Around 73 women, children and elderly were taking shelter in a local mosque when Taliban fired rockets at the mosque.[8][9]
[edit]Pakistan
The history of Hazara people in Pakistan dates back to 1840s, when Hazara tribesmen from Hazarajat began migration to colonial India for work. Many Hazaras were enlisted in the British Indian Army during the first Anglo-Afghan War (1838-1840). The mass-migration and permanent settlements started in 1890s when Emir Abdul Rahman Khan started persecuting the Hazaras of Afghanistan.[10] The majority of the Hazara is Shiite Muslims with a sizable Sunni minority and others. Although sectarian violence in Pakistan, home to an estimated 20% Shia Muslim population, started during the reign of military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq in the 1980s, Balochistan had remained peaceful until the turn of the century in 2000.
[edit]Quetta
Further information: Persecution of Hazaras in Quetta
In recent years, the persecution of Hazaras in Quetta has left at least 800 dead and more than 1500 wounded. the victims include high-profile community members, labores, women and children.[11] One third of the victims are children. No one has yet been arrested for these murders.[12][13] The major attacks included assassinations of Hussain Ali Yousafi, Olympia Abrar Hussain, bombing of a Hazara mosque, Ashura massacre, Quds Day bombing, Play ground massacre, Mastung massacre and Akhtarabad massacre.[14][13]
The Al-Qaeda affiliated Pakistani Sunni Muslim extremist militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, has claimed responsibility for most of these attacks.[15][16] Other theories suggest the involvement of Taliban's Quetta Shura,[17] and Pakistani military establishment, as most of the terrorist organizations in Pakistan are allegedly supported by the country's military.[18][19] It is also suggested that the country's security establishment might be trying to provoke the Hazara against other ethnic groups in the province.[20][21][22]
In response to these killings, worldwide demonstrations were held to condemn the persecution of Hazaras in Quetta. The Hazara diaspora all over the world, namely in Australia, Western Europe, North America as well as the Hazara in Afghanistan, have protested gainst these killings and against the silence of international community.[23][24] Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, the political leader of the Hazara in Afghanistan, has also expressed solidarity with the Hazara community in Quetta.[25][26] The persecutions have been documented by the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Asian Human Rights Commission, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.[27][28][29][30][31][32] EU parliamentarian Rita Borsellino has urged the international community to address the plight of Hazara people in Quetta.[33] The members of British Parliament, Alistair Burt, Mark Lancaster, Alan Johnson, and Iain Stewart asked the government to pressurize Pakistani authorities concerning the absence of justice for Hazara community in Pakistan[13][34]
[edit]Karachi
So far dozens of Hazara individuals have been killed in Karachi, but none of the killers has been brought to Justice. Among the dead were social workers & intellectuals.[35] In Karachi terrorists shot dead Agha Abbas, owner of famous fruit juice outlet Agha Juice.[36]Sindh police announced the arrest of Akram Lahori, chief of a banned religious group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (lej) along with his four accomplices, for their alleged involvement in sectarian killings, including the murder of Agha Abbas.
Persecution of Hazara people in Quetta
The Hazara minority in Quetta, in Balochistan province of Pakistan, is reported to be the victim of persecution and violence. According to some reports, at least 800 Hazara men, women and children have lost their lives and more than 1500 have been injured in Quetta in recent years.[1][2] The Pakistani Sunni Muslim extremist militant group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, is assumed to be behind the attacks against Hazaras.
Hazaras have been living in Pakistan since the 19th century, when they fled to British India fromHazarajat, the central highland region of Afghanistan, due to persecution by Emir Abdul Rahman Khan. The Hazaras are mainly Shiite Muslims in Sunni-dominated Pakistan and are easily identifiable due to their Mongoloid features.[3]
Contents[hide] |
[edit]Perpetrators
Acts of violence involving Sunni Muslims and their Shia counterparts in Pakistan have been evident since the 1980s. They are generally considered to have arisen from attempts by the then national leader, Zia ul-Haq, to legitimise his military dictatorship and from the influx of weapons into the country following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Although the perpetrators often do not claim responsibility for the attacks, expert analysis suggests that in recent times it is the Sunnis who are dominating the aggression and that they are motivated by the ideology of Al-Qaeda.[4] The number of violent incidents has been increasing in recent years, although not all of them are classified by the police as being sectarian attacks.[5]
Quetta, which is the capital of the Pakistani province of Balochistan, has seen numerous of these violent incidents. This is in part because of a separatist movement involving militants from the ethnic minority who desire greater autonomy and also because the Pakistani military is engaged in counter-insurgency operations near to the province's border with Afghanistan, where there is tribal strife that involves the Taliban and allied groups.[5]
It is widely assumed that the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Sunni Muslim extremist militant group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), is behind the attacks on the Hazara minority in the region.[6][7] There are differences of opinion regarding whether LeJ is a breakaway group of a banned former political party, Sipah-e-Sahaba, or are its armed wing.[4] The LeJ openly issues death threats to Hazaras through newspaper ads and describes them as wajib-ul-qatl (deserving of death).[3] Many Hazaras believe that the perpetrators cannot possibly be operating independently.[citation needed] LeJ is believed to be one of many Pakistani terrorist groups which fought for Taliban against the United Front in Afghanistan in the 1990s. It is also suggested that the country's security establishment might be trying to provoke the Hazara against other ethnic groups in the province[8] as most of the terrorist organizations in Pakistan are allegedly supported by the country's military establishment.[9][10] The Pakistani Army and its intelligence wing, the ISI, have accused foreign interference in Balochistan's affairs, without directly responding to allegations against themselves for allowing the banned terrorist organizations to operate freely and with complete impunity.[11][12][13][14]
[edit]Response
Various advocacy groups, such as the Hazara People International Network, have been formed to publicise the situation and promote opposition to it.[15] The Hazara diaspora in Australia, Western Europe and North America have also joined these protests from time to time.[16] Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, the political leader of the Hazara in Afghanistan, has also expressed solidarity with the Hazara community in Quetta.[17][18]
The persecution carried out against the Hazara have been documented by the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Asian Human Rights Commission, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.[19][20][21][22][23][24]
Responding to a journalist's question regarding the Mastung Massacre, Aslam Raisani, chief minister of Balochistan, said, The population of Balochistan is in millions, 40 dead in Mastung, is no big deal.[25] When asked about what he could do for the grieving families of the victims, he replied, I can send truckload of tissue paper for them to wipe their tears.[26] Mahmood Khan Achakzai, and Sardar Akhtar Mengal, the exiled Baloch leaders, have also condemned the killings and demanded that the Pakistani security establishment take stern action against those involved in terrorism and acts of violence against civilians. In his reaction on March 29, 2012, Sardar Akhtar Mengal accused the Pakistani military establishment of trying to sow hatred and division among the oppressed peoples by promoting religious extremism and intolerance, which his people regarded against their traditions.[27]
The Pakistani Army and its intelligence wing, the ISI, have accused foreign interference in Balochistan's affairs,[28] without directly responding to allegations against themselves for allowing the banned terrorist organizations to operate freely and with complete impunity.[29][30][31][32]
[edit]Timeline of attacks
Following is an incomplete list of terrorist attacks against Shia Hazara community in Quetta.
[edit]2001
February 9: Six passengers were shot dead and five severely wounded when they were traveling in a van en-route from Hazara Town toAlamdar road. Later, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the attack.[citation needed]
[edit]2003
June 8: Eleven police cadets were killed when two assailants opened fire on their vehicle. The attack occurred on Saryab Road and left nine others injured.[33]
July 4:
Main article: 2003 Quetta mosque bombing
Fifty five people were killed and over 150 were injured in an attack on worshipers during Friday Prayers on Mekongi road Quetta.[34]
[edit]2007
January 10: Agha Ghulam Ali, aged 25, owner of the famous fruit juice outlet in Pakistan. His father Agha Abbas Ali had also been murdered by the same Sunni Muslim terrorist organization in May 2002.[35]
[edit]2009
[edit]2010
Some 100 people from the Hazara minority lost their lives in targeted killings in 2010. Many more were wounded.[37][dubious ]
September 3:
Main article: September 2010 Quetta bombing
At least 73 people were killed and 206 injured when a bomb exploded during a rally.[38]
[edit]2011
May 6:
Main article: 2011 Hazara Town shooting
Eight died and fifteen were wounded in the early morning when armed men fired rockets at Hazara people playing outside in an open field. Children were also among the victims.[39][clarification needed]
June 16: Abrar Hussain, the Pakistani Olympian boxer and Chairman Balochistan Sports Board, was assassinated near Ayub National Stadium in Quetta.[40][41]
August 31:
Thirteen died and twenty-two were wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the morning of Eid near Hazara Eid Gah. Four women and two children were also among the dead.[42]
September 20:
Main article: 2011 Mastung bus shooting
A bus carrying pilgrims to Taftan was stopped in Mastung near Quetta, after identifying Hazara passengers they were massacredleaving 26 dead. Three more were shot dead when they were on their way to collect the bodies.[43]
September 23: Five more Shia Hazara were casualties in an attack when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a van.[44]
October 4: Thirteen Hazara vegetable vendors were among the fourteen victims when unidentified gunmen targeted a van in Quetta.[25]
[edit]2012
January 26: Three men were shot dead in Quetta. Two of the victims were public servants and the third one Abid Ali Nazish, was a television artist.[45]
March 29: A taxi carrying passengers from Hazara Town was sprayed with bullets, which killed seven and injured six.[46][47] Three women and some children were also among the casualties. This was the third attack on the community in just one week.[48] Two boys under 16 were shot dead by the police as they tried to disperse angry protesters blocking traffic, raising the death toll to nine.[citation needed]
April 3: Two Hazara men were shot dead in Mekongi road, Quetta, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) claimed responsibility for the attack.[49]
April 9: Six men were killed by unidentified gunmen on Prince road.[50]
April 12: Three businessmen, one Tea trader and two Ice cream parlour owners, were gunned down in the busiest bazaars of the city, in two separate incidents.[51]
April 14: Eight Hazara men were killed on their way to work when armed assailants opened fire on a taxi carrying them on Brewery road.[52]
April 21: Two brothers were shot dead on Brewery road near SBKW University adjacent to Hazara Town, Quetta. The Pakistaniparamilitary force of Frontier Corps later arrested three suspects with the help of locals.[53][54]
May 15: Two brothers were killed when unidentified gunmen opened fire on them while they were standing in the line outside Passportissuing office on Joint road, Quetta.[55]
June 28: 15 people were killed and 45 others injured, when a suicide attack occurred on a bus in Quetta which had just returned from Iran carrying 60 pilgrims including scores of women and children belonging to the Hazara community.[56] Among the dead were four women and two children.
November 6: "Assailants on a motorcycle opened fire on a yellow taxi cab on Spinny Road": 3 Hazaras killed, 2 injured.[57]
