Persecution of Hazara people refers to systematic discrimination, ethnic cleansing and genocide of Hazara people, who are primarily from Hazarajat a central highland region in Afghanistan. Upto half a million Hazara also live in the city of Quetta in neighbouring Pakistan. The persecution of Hazara people dates back to late 19th century during the notorious reign of Emir Abdur Rahman (1880-1901), who killed, expelled and enslaved many thousands. 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 neighbouring Balochistan of British India and Khurasan 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. 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.
Afghanistan
Hazara people are historically the most restrained ethnic minority and have witnessed slight improvements in the circumstances even with the setup of modern Afghanistan. The discrimination against them was not set off by Taliban in last decades but has subsisted for centuries by Pashtuns and other ethnic groups . Before the 19th century, Hazaras were the prevalent ethnic group in Afghanistan, constituted almost 67% of the population now remains only 2.8 million. More than half was massacred in 1893 during the reign of Abdur Rahman Khan. After which, for centuries, severe political, social and economic tyranny and denial to basic civil rights were faced.
Afshar
The Afshar district home to Hazaras, situated on the slopes of Afshar Mountain in the west of Kabul, was a densely peopled neighborhood where the operation took place. In February 1993, a military operation was conducted by Burhanuddin Rabbani's Islamic State of Afghanistan government forces to capture the positions of Hizbe Wahdat and capture Abdul Ali Mazari.
Abdul Rasul Sayyaf's Ittihad was greatly involved in the operation which was allied with the Rabbani government. Ittahid rampaged all the way through Afshar, slaughtering, raping and burning houses. Around 70 people died during the street fighting and between 700-750 persons were abducted, who never retunred, by Sayyaf’s Ittihad and were most likely killed or died in captivity. Tens of women were abducted as well during the operation. Some sources put the total number of deaths between 4000 and 8000.
Robatak Pass
The pass connecting the settlements of Tashkurgan and Pule Khumri is well-known as Robatak Pass where a mass murder was carried out by Taliban in May 2000 in which 31 confirmed dead was reported. Twently-six of the victims were Ismaili Hazara from Baghalan province their remains were found to the northeast of the pass, neighborhood famous as Hazara Mazari, 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.
Yakawlang
In January 2001, Taliban committed a mass execution of Hazara people in Yakawlang District of Bamyan province, Afghanistan. The Human butchery started on January 8 and lasted for four days which took lives of 170 men. Taliban apprehended about 300 persons, together with employees of local humanitarian organizations then 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.
Pakistan
About half a million Hazara live in Quetta, who fled persecution in neighbouring Afghanistan during the 19th century. Majority of the Hazara is Shiite Muslim with sizable Sunni minority. Although sectarian violence in Pakistan, with an estimated 20% Shia Muslim population, started during the reign of military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq in the 1980s, the Hazara community in Quetta had never been involved in this conflict. Notable Hazara individuals include Qazi Mohammad Isa, General Muhammad Musa, Air Marshal (R) Sharbat Ali Changezi, Abrar Hussain Shah, Hussain Ali Yousafi, Abdul Khaliq Hazara, Dr. Ruqaya Hashemi, MNA Nasir Ali Shah, MPA Jan Ali Changezi and Sardar Sa'adat Ali. Hazara Democratic Party is a secular nationalist party with liberal democratic ideology which represents the Hazara people in Pakistan.
Casualties
Around 700 community members including doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, intellectuals and other professionals have lost their lives and at least 1500 have been injured as a result of violence against Hazara people in Quetta in recent years. One third of the victims are children. No one has yet been arrested for these cold blooded murders.
Perpetrators
It is widely assumed that Pakistani Sunni extremist militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, (an Al-Qaida and Taliban affiliate), is behind these attacks. However, some Hazara believe that the perpetrators can not possibly be operating independently. Another theory suggests the involvement of Taliban, whoes leadership council known as the Quetta Shura is established and operates in the city of Quetta. Taliban carried out several massacres inside Afghanistan between 1995-2001, which cost the Hazara people at least 10000 lives. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is believed to be one of the many Pakistani terrorist groups which fought for Taliban against the United Front in Afghanistan. The most common perception regarding Hazara people's resentment towards the Taliban is based on ethnic and religious differences. The Hazara however, add one crucial disagreement with the Taliban on grounds of their socio-political ideology. The Hazara assert that the Taliban is an extremist ideology of violence, terror, intolerance and religious fanaticism, whereas the Hazara people strongly adhere to the principles of Human Rights, Democracy, Tolerance, Pluralism, Inclusiveness, and Equal opportuniy for all. Most of the terrorist organizations in Pakistan are allegedly supported by the country's military establishment. It is also suggested that the country's security establishment might be trying to provoke the Hazara against other ethnic groups in the province. Asian Human Rights Commission reported in January 2012 that the Pakistan army had created a militant organization to kill intellectuals, activists and Hazaras in Balochistan.
Response
In response to the latest surge in violence, the Hazara people have requested nations all around the world to stage protest demonstrations against their systematic genocide. They have also requested free peoples of the world to write letters to their governments asking them to pressurize the Pakistani government and military to arrest the killers and ensure their safety. The persecution or genocide carried out against the Hazara has 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. EU parliamentarian Rita Borsellino has urged the international community to address the plight of Hazara people in Quetta. British Parliament has also asked the government to pressurize Pakistani authorities for absence of Justice with Hazara community in Pakistan. Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for South Asia/counter terrorism, Alistair Burt, said, I acknowledge to terrifying statistics about the absence of justice...we remain very concerned about the response of the Pakistani authorities to those statistics, and we will apply pressure in relation to them. Mark Lancaster, MP from Milton Keynes North, said, ... while that statistic of more than 600 deaths and not a single conviction, it is very hard to take seriously the Pakistan's claim that they are tackling this matter? Alan Johnson, MP From Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle said, the Pakistani Government must do more to root out state-supported terrorism wherever it exists. It undoubtedly exists in Quetta city, and the Hazaras are its principal victims. It is a good place to begin this process. Iain Stewart, MP from Milton Keynes South said that he endorsed all the points made by the MPs and added, those attacks are not being dealt with appropriately by the authorities in Pakistan. Responding to a journalist's question regarding the Mastung Massacre, Aslam Raisani the chief minister of Balochistan said, The population of Balochistan is in millions, 40 dead in Mastung, is no big deal. 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. The Pakistani Army and its notorious 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. Despite several meetings held by local Hazara elders with the Army Corps Commander Quetta, the military has not taken any action against the culprits to this date. Mahmood Khan Achakzai, and Sardar Akhtar Mengal, the exiled Baloch leader have also condemned the killings demanding 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. The community's response to these attacks has been limited to civil protests only. The Hazara diaspora in Australia, Western Europe and North America have also joined these protests from time to time. Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq the political leader of the Hazara in Afghanistan has also expressed solidarity with the Hazara community in Quetta. The Hazara in Afghanistan and the Hazara diaspora all around the world have organized and coordinating efforts to raise awareness internationally about what the Hazaras are going through. Hazara People International Network is one example of this effort. Hazara children cannot go to schools and adults cannot go to their work without risking their lives. Many Hazara want an immediate intervention by the international community in any form. They express angrily why the international community namely, the EU, UN, Australia or the US, are not raising the issue of ongoing massacre of Hazara people with the Pakistani state.
Timeline of major attacks
2001
February 09: Six passengers were shot dead and five severely wounded when they were traveling in a van en route from Hazara Town to Alamdar road. Unidentified gunmen opened fire. Later, Lashakar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the attack.
2003
June 08: Eleven Police cadets belonging to Hazara ethnic minority were killed, when two assailants opened fire on their vehicle. The attack occurred on Saryab road which also left 9 others injured.
July 04: Forty seven were killed in an attack on the worshippers during Friday prayers, when three gunmen entered a local mosque, threw grenades and opened fire. 65 people were also injured.
2004
March 02: Forty two people were killed and at least 150 injured on the holy day of Ashura, when the faithful were mourning the death of Imam Hussain, Prophet Mohammad's grandson, in the battle of Karbala. After an explosion the terrorists opened fire on the procession.
2009
January 26: Hussain Ali Yousafi, chairman Hazara Democratic Party was gunned down by unidentified assailants in brought day light. Police has not been able to arrest anyone involved in his assasination.
2010
Some 100 people from Hazara minority lost their lives in several incidents of targetted killings in 2010 alone and many more were wounded.
2011
May 06: Eight died and fifteen 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.
August 31: Thirteen died and twenty two wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself in the morning of Eid near Hazara Eid Gah. Four women and two children were also among the dead.
September 20: A bus carrying Hazara pilgrims was stopped in Mastung near Quetta. Called the Mastung Massacre, armed gunmen entered the bus and after identifying Hazara passengers, pulled them out, lined up and sprayed with bullets in summary execution style. At least twenty six died on the spot. Later, on the same day, relatives of the victimes who were on their way to collect the dead bodies of their loved ones from the scene, were also fired upon by unidentified terrorists killing 3 and injuring many more.
September 23: Five more Shia Hazara were the casualties of yet another attack just three days after the Mastung massacre, when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a van.
October 04: Thirteen Hazara vegetable vendors were among the fourteen victims when unidentified gunmen targeted a van carrying them in Quetta.
2012
January 26: Three Hazara men were shot dead, Two of the victims were public servants , the third was a television artist.
March 26: Two Hazara men were shot dead in Sabzal road.
March 29: A taxi carrying passengers from Hazara Town was sprayed with bullets which killed seven and injured six. Three women and some children were also among the casualties. This had been the third attack on this small community in just one week. Two boys aged under 16, were shot dead later by the police as they tried to disperse angry protesters who were trying to block the road for traffic, raising the death toll to nine. People were especially furious as the attack had occured just 15 meters from the police check post. Police has arrested three protesters including the brother of a dead victim.
April 03: Two more Hazara were shot dead in Mekongi road Quetta on Tuesday 3 April 2012 when they were busy working in a metal welding shop.
April 09: In a cold blooded attack on Hazara people in Quetta, at least six men including a 16 year old boy, lost their lives when gunmen opened fire at shoe makers in a shop on Prince road Quetta. A 17 year old student protester was shot dead by the police the next day.
April 12: Three Hazara shopkeepers were shot dead in Quetta and one other person was critically injured on Thursday April 12, 2012.
April 13: Two people, including a woman, were shot dead by armed assailants. The victims belonged to the Hazara ethnic minority in Quetta Pakistan.
April 14: Eight Hazara men were killed this morning on their way to work when armed assailant opened fire at a taxi carrying them on Brewery road.
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