Category: Discrimination

UNAMA condemns murder of seven civilians in Zabul

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Thousands Of Women Join Protest Over Beheading Of Zabul Seven
Thousands Of Women Join Protest Over Beheading Of Zabul Seven

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) condemns the murder by anti-Government elements of seven civilians, including two women, one girl and two boys, in the southern province of Zabul.

The seven civilians were abducted last month and executed between 6 and 8 November in Arghandab district while armed clashes were reported there between two rival groups of anti-Government elements.

“The deliberate murder of civilian hostages, including women and children, is particularly abhorrent” said Nicholas Haysom the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA. “These senseless murders may amount to war crimes and the perpetrators must be held accountable.”

UNAMA recalls that the murder of civilians, as well as the taking of civilian hostages, are serious violations of international humanitarian law that all parties to the armed conflict – including all anti-Government elements – are required to uphold.

The UN Mission expresses its sincere condolences to the families of the victims.

The story: Afghan Hazara killings spur thousands to march in Kabul

Afghan security forces have fired warning shots into the air at a protest in Kabul, injuring seven people, according to officials.

Police fired the shots to disperse protesters marching outside the presidential palace.

Thousands are protesting against the recent abduction and killing of seven civilians from the Hazara ethnic minority.

It is not clear who carried out the killings.

The bodies were found in the southern province of Zabul where fighting between Taliban factions has escalated recently. Some of the victims had had their throats slit.

The marchers carried the coffins of the dead through the streets of Kabul in the pouring rain.

“Today they kill us, tomorrow they kill you,” some chanted. Others carried banners bearing photos of the victims and shouted “Death to the Taliban”.

The murdered Hazaras included four men, two women and a nine-year-old girl.

Officials said they were among dozens of Hazaras kidnapped in a number of abductions dating back to last year.

Afghan security forces have reportedly stopped live coverage of the protests by private television channel Ariana News TV.

Afghanistan has a large population of minority Hazaras who are mostly Shia Muslims. But unlike in neighbouring Pakistan they have been largely spared attacks by Sunni militants in recent years.

The killings have fuelled concern over security in Afghanistan. President Ashraf Ghani’s government has come under increasing pressure to address the issue.

“This issue doesn’t belong to a family, a tribe or an ethnic group, but it belongs to all Afghans,” said Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, speaker of the lower house of parliament.

Even more: Afghan terror groups beheaded Hazras in Afghanistan

Taliban and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan have beheaded three women and four men of Hazara hostages in southern Zabul province of Afghanistan.

According to the local government officials, the victims were Hazrara hostages who were kidnapped by the terror groups from a main highway in this province.

The provincial police chief Jilani Farahi confirmed the dead bodies of the deceased individuals were left in Khak-e-Afghan district on Sunday.

He said the dead bodies were transferred to the district hospital in Shahjoi with the help of the local tribal elders.

Recently Assailants shoot dead 13 Harazas travelling in vehicles in usually tranquil northern province, while sparing a woman.

“The gunmen stopped two vehicles, lined up all the male passengers and shot them dead,” said Jafar Haidari, the governor of Zari district in Balkh, where the incident occurred.

“They spared the life of one woman who was in one of the vehicles. All the victims were Hazaras.”

The head of the provincial council Ata Jan Haq Parast also confirmed that the abducted passengers, including the women were brutally killed by the militants.

It is yet not clear if the victims belonged to a group of 31 people who were kidnapped from the highway earlier this year.

At least 19 of the hostages were freed three months after when government freed back Talibans.

The militants had abducted at least nine passengers from Kabul-Kandahar highway in the restive southeastern Ghazni province of Afghanistan in mid August this year.

Lookout

Social activists, students and Afghan migrants in foreign countries in their street gathering asks the international community that use their influence and force the Afghan government to take action for Afghans lives safety.

Why Hazaras ?

Persecution of Hazara people refers to systematic discrimination, ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Shia Hazara people, who are primarily from the central highland region of Hazaristan in Afghanistan. Significant populations of Hazara people are also found in Quetta, Pakistan and Mashad, Iran as part of the Hazara and Afghan diaspora. The persecution of Hazara people dates back to the 16th century, with Babur from Kabulistan.[1] It is reported that during the reign of Emir Abdur Rahman (1880-1901), thousands of Hazaras were killed, expelled and enslaved.[2] Syed Askar Mousavi, a contemporary Hazara writer, claims that half the population of Hazaras was displaced, shifted to neighbouring Balochistan of British India[3] and Khorasan Provinceof Iran. However, “it is difficult to verify such an estimate, but the memory of the conquest of the Hazārajāt by ʿAbd-al-Raḥmān Khan certainly remains vivid among the Hazāras themselves, and has heavily influenced their relations with the Afghan state throughout the 20th century.”[2] This led to Pashtuns and other groups occupying parts of Hazarajat. The Hazara people have also been the victims of massacre by Taliban and al-Qaeda. Although the situation of Hazaras has not yet improved in Afghanistan even after ousting of Taliban government from power in 2001, thousands of Hazara People have been persecuted in neighboring Pakistan, by sunni extremists groups in recent years.

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 Shia ethnic group has subsisted for centuries by Mughals,[1] Pashtuns and other ethnic groups.[4] Syed Askar Mousavi, a contemporary Hazara writer, estimates that more than half of the entire population of Hazaras was driven out of their villages, including many who were massacred. “It is difficult to verify such an estimate, but the memory of the conquest of the Hazārajāt by ʿAbd-al-Raḥmān Khan certainly remains vivid among the Hazāras themselves, and has heavily influenced their relations with the Afghan state throughout the 20th century.”[2] The British from neighboring British India, who were heavily involved in Afghanistan, did not document such a large figure. Others claim that Hazaras began leaving their hometown Hazarajat due to poverty and in search of employment mostly in the 20th century.[5] Most of these Hazaras immigrated to neighbouring Balochistan, where they were provided permanent settlement by the government of British India.[3]Others settled in and around Mashad, which is in the Khorasan Province of Iran.[5]

The Hazaras of Afghanistan faced severe political, social and economic tyranny and denial of basic civil rights.[4] In the late 19th century, the Hazaras along with their Shia counterpart Qizilbash sided with the invading British-led Indians against the native Sunni ethnic groups of Afghanistan. In 1933, Abdul Khaliq, a Hazara student assassinated Afghan King Nadir Khan.

Afshar

Main article: Afshar Operation

Human Rights Watch documented victim accounts that describe some 80 summary executions and more than 700 kidnappings in three days; of these, 80 to 100 were freed after ransoms were paid. The rest never came home.

Human Rights Watch documented victim accounts that describe some 80 summary executions and more than 700 kidnappings in three days; of these, 80 to 100 were freed after ransoms were paid. The rest never came home.

In February 1993, a two-day military operation was conducted by the Islamic State of Afghanistan government and the Saudi-backed Sunni Wahhabi Ittihad-i Islamimilitia 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 Shia Hezb-e Wahdat militia (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 intended 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 the Saudi 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. 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.[6][7] Dozens of women were abducted during the operation as well.[8]

Mazar-i-Sharif

Following the 1997 massacre of 3,000 Taliban prisoners by Abdul Malik Pahlawan in Mazar-i-Sharif[9] some 8000 Hazara men, women and children were massacred by other Taliban members in the same city 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. It is ironic that Hazara civilians were killed to avenge the massacres ordered by Uzbek commander Abdul Malik Pahlawan.

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.[10][11]

Yakawlang

In January 2001 Taliban committed a mass execution of Hazara people in Yakawlang District of Bamyan province, Afghanistan. This 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.[11][12]

Pakistan

The history of Hazara people in Pakistan dates back to the 1840s, when Hazara tribesmen from Hazarajat began migration to colonial India because of persecution by Pashtuns and Tajiks. 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 the 1890s when Emir Abdul Rahman Khan started persecuting the Hazaras of Afghanistan.[13] The majority of Hazara are Shi’a Muslims with a sizable Sunni minority. 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. Peace activist Ali Raza said in 2015 “43 Shias are killed every month on average”.[14]

Quetta

Further information: Persecution of Hazaras in Quetta

Mass-grave of Hazara's, show's that people suffering from long time ago and the exist with traffic valiance's in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Mass-grave of Hazara’s, show’s that people suffering from long time ago and the exist with traffic valiance’s in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In recent years, the persecution of Hazaras in Quetta has left at least 1300 dead and more than 1500 wounded. The victims include high-profile community members, laborers, women and children.[15] One third of the victims are children. No one has yet been arrested for these murders.[16][17] 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, January 2013 Quetta bombings, February 2013 Quetta bombing, Hazara Pilgrims carnage, Akhtarabad massacre & other terrorist attacks on Hazara People in Quetta.[17][18]

The Al-Qaeda affiliated Pakistani Sunni Muslim extremist militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, has claimed responsibility for most of these attacks.[19][20] Other theories suggest the involvement of Taliban’s Quetta Shura,[21][22][23][24][25][26]

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 inAustralia, Western Europe, North America as well as the Hazara in Afghanistan, have protested against these killings and against the silence of international community.[27][28] Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, the political leader of the Hazara in Afghanistan, has also expressed solidarity with the Hazara community in Quetta.[29][30]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.[31][32][33][34][35][36] EU parliamentarian Rita Borsellino has urged the international community to address the plight of Hazara people in Quetta.[37] The members of British Parliament, Alistair Burt, Mark Lancaster, Alan Johnson, and Iain Stewart asked the government to pressure Pakistani authorities concerning the absence of justice for Hazara community in Pakistan[17][38]

As a consequence of the attacks, and the alleged impunity by which they are perpetrated, there has been a recent exodus of Hazaras trying to flee the violence. They are headed mainly to Australia & other Western Countries, where thousands of them have taken shelter and successfully relocated after obtaining refugee status. To get there, they complete an illegal and treacherous journey across Southeast Asia through air, land and sea that has already left hundreds of them dead.[39][40]

Karachi

So far Hundreds of Hazara individuals have been killed in Karachi, but none of the killers has never been brought to Justice. Among the dead were social workers & intellectuals.[41] In Karachi terrorists shot dead Agha Abbas, owner of famous fruit juice outlet Agha Juice.[42] 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.

BBC/ AHRH/ HAZARA PEOPL/  WIKIPEDIA

Afghan terror groups beheaded Hazras in Afghanistan

Posted in Discrimination, War CrimesTagged Leave a comment
The killings bore chilling similarities to another incident in Wardak province south of Kabul, where assailants opened fire on a bus and killed 13 passengers in late March.
The killings bore chilling similarities to another incident in Wardak province south of Kabul, where assailants opened fire on a bus and killed 13 passengers in late March.

Taliban and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan have beheaded three women and four men of Hazara hostages in southern Zabul province of Afghanistan.

According to the local government officials, the victims were Hazrara hostages who were kidnapped by the terror groups from a main highway in this province.

The provincial police chief Jilani Farahi confirmed the dead bodies of the deceased individuals were left in Khak-e-Afghan district on Sunday.

He said the dead bodies were transferred to the district hospital in Shahjoi with the help of the local tribal elders.

Recently Assailants shoot dead 13 Harazas travelling in vehicles in usually tranquil northern province, while sparing a woman.

“The gunmen stopped two vehicles, lined up all the male passengers and shot them dead,” said Jafar Haidari, the governor of Zari district in Balkh, where the incident occurred.

“They spared the life of one woman who was in one of the vehicles. All the victims were Hazaras.”

The head of the provincial council Ata Jan Haq Parast also confirmed that the abducted passengers, including the women were brutally killed by the militants.

It is yet not clear if the victims belonged to a group of 31 people who were kidnapped from the highway earlier this year.

At least 19 of the hostages were freed three months after when government freed back Talibans.

The militants had abducted at least nine passengers from Kabul-Kandahar highway in the restive southeastern Ghazni province of Afghanistan in mid August this year.

Lookout
Social activists, students and Afghan migrants in foreign countries in their street gathering asks the international community that use their influence and force the Afghan government to take action for Afghans lives safety.

Why Hazaras ?

Persecution of Hazara people refers to systematic discrimination, ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Shia Hazara people, who are primarily from the central highland region of Hazaristan in Afghanistan. Significant populations of Hazara people are also found in Quetta, Pakistan and Mashad, Iran as part of the Hazara and Afghan diaspora. The persecution of Hazara people dates back to the 16th century, with Babur from Kabulistan.[1] It is reported that during the reign of Emir Abdur Rahman (1880-1901), thousands of Hazaras were killed, expelled and enslaved.[2] Syed Askar Mousavi, a contemporary Hazara writer, claims that half the population of Hazaras was displaced, shifted to neighbouring Balochistan of British India[3] and Khorasan Provinceof Iran. However, “it is difficult to verify such an estimate, but the memory of the conquest of the Hazārajāt by ʿAbd-al-Raḥmān Khan certainly remains vivid among the Hazāras themselves, and has heavily influenced their relations with the Afghan state throughout the 20th century.”[2] This led to Pashtuns and other groups occupying parts of Hazarajat. The Hazara people have also been the victims of massacre by Taliban and al-Qaeda. Although the situation of Hazaras has not yet improved in Afghanistan even after ousting of Taliban government from power in 2001, thousands of Hazara People have been persecuted in neighboring Pakistan, by sunni extremists groups in recent years.

Afghanistan

Hazara people are historically the most restrained[clarification needed] ethnic group and have witnessed slight improvements in the circumstances even with the setup of modern Afghanistan. The discrimination against this Shia ethnic group has subsisted for centuries by Mughals,[1] Pashtuns and other ethnic groups.[4] Syed Askar Mousavi, a contemporary Hazara writer, estimates that more than half of the entire population of Hazaras was driven out of their villages, including many who were massacred. “It is difficult to verify such an estimate, but the memory of the conquest of the Hazārajāt by ʿAbd-al-Raḥmān Khan certainly remains vivid among the Hazāras themselves, and has heavily influenced their relations with the Afghan state throughout the 20th century.”[2] The British from neighboring British India, who were heavily involved in Afghanistan, did not document such a large figure. Others claim that Hazaras began leaving their hometown Hazarajat due to poverty and in search of employment mostly in the 20th century.[5] Most of these Hazaras immigrated to neighbouring Balochistan, where they were provided permanent settlement by the government of British India.[3]Others settled in and around Mashad, which is in the Khorasan Province of Iran.[5]

The Hazaras of Afghanistan faced severe political, social and economic tyranny and denial of basic civil rights.[4] In the late 19th century, the Hazaras along with their Shia counterpart Qizilbash sided with the invading British-led Indians against the native Sunni ethnic groups of Afghanistan. In 1933, Abdul Khaliq, a Hazara student assassinated Afghan King Nadir Khan.

Afshar

Main article: Afshar Operation

Human Rights Watch documented victim accounts that describe some 80 summary executions and more than 700 kidnappings in three days; of these, 80 to 100 were freed after ransoms were paid. The rest never came home.
Human Rights Watch documented victim accounts that describe some 80 summary executions and more than 700 kidnappings in three days; of these, 80 to 100 were freed after ransoms were paid. The rest never came home.

In February 1993, a two-day military operation was conducted by the Islamic State of Afghanistan government and the Saudi-backed Sunni Wahhabi Ittihad-i Islamimilitia 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 Shia Hezb-e Wahdat militia (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 intended 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 the Saudi 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. 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.[6][7] Dozens of women were abducted during the operation as well.[8]

Mazar-i-Sharif

Following the 1997 massacre of 3,000 Taliban prisoners by Abdul Malik Pahlawan in Mazar-i-Sharif[9] some 8000[citation needed] Hazara men, women and children were massacred by other Taliban members in the same city 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. It is ironic that Hazara civilians were killed to avenge the massacres ordered by Uzbek commander Abdul Malik Pahlawan.

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.[10][11]

Yakawlang

In January 2001 Taliban committed a mass execution of Hazara people in Yakawlang District of Bamyan province, Afghanistan. This 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.[11][12]

Pakistan

The history of Hazara people in Pakistan dates back to the 1840s, when Hazara tribesmen from Hazarajat began migration to colonial India because of persecution by Pashtuns and Tajiks. 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 the 1890s when Emir Abdul Rahman Khan started persecuting the Hazaras of Afghanistan.[13] The majority of Hazara are Shi’a Muslims with a sizable Sunni minority. 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. Peace activist Ali Raza said in 2015 “43 Shias are killed every month on average”.[14]

Quetta

Further information: Persecution of Hazaras in Quetta

Mass-grave of Hazara's, show's that people suffering from long time ago and the exist with traffic valiance's in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Mass-grave of Hazara’s, show’s that people suffering from long time ago and the exist with traffic valiance’s in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In recent years, the persecution of Hazaras in Quetta has left at least 1300 dead and more than 1500 wounded. The victims include high-profile community members, laborers, women and children.[15] One third of the victims are children. No one has yet been arrested for these murders.[16][17] 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, January 2013 Quetta bombings, February 2013 Quetta bombing, Hazara Pilgrims carnage, Akhtarabad massacre & other terrorist attacks on Hazara People in Quetta.[17][18]

The Al-Qaeda affiliated Pakistani Sunni Muslim extremist militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, has claimed responsibility for most of these attacks.[19][20] Other theories suggest the involvement of Taliban’s Quetta Shura,[21][22][23][24][25][26]

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 inAustralia, Western Europe, North America as well as the Hazara in Afghanistan, have protested against these killings and against the silence of international community.[27][28] Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, the political leader of the Hazara in Afghanistan, has also expressed solidarity with the Hazara community in Quetta.[29][30]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.[31][32][33][34][35][36] EU parliamentarian Rita Borsellino has urged the international community to address the plight of Hazara people in Quetta.[37] The members of British Parliament, Alistair Burt, Mark Lancaster, Alan Johnson, and Iain Stewart asked the government to pressure Pakistani authorities concerning the absence of justice for Hazara community in Pakistan[17][38]

As a consequence of the attacks, and the alleged impunity by which they are perpetrated, there has been a recent exodus of Hazaras trying to flee the violence. They are headed mainly to Australia & other Western Countries, where thousands of them have taken shelter and successfully relocated after obtaining refugee status. To get there, they complete an illegal and treacherous journey across Southeast Asia through air, land and sea that has already left hundreds of them dead.[39][40]

Karachi

So far Hundreds of Hazara individuals have been killed in Karachi, but none of the killers has never been brought to Justice. Among the dead were social workers & intellectuals.[41] In Karachi terrorists shot dead Agha Abbas, owner of famous fruit juice outlet Agha Juice.[42] 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.

Gunmen kill 13 Hazara passengers in north Afghanistan

Posted in DiscriminationTagged Leave a comment

Assailants shoot dead 13 Harazas travelling in vehicles in usually tranquil northern province, while sparing a woman.

The killings bore chilling similarities to another incident in Wardak province south of Kabul, where assailants opened fire on a bus and killed 13 passengers in late March.
The killings bore chilling similarities to another incident in Wardak province south of Kabul, where assailants opened fire on a bus and killed 13 passengers in late March.

Unknown gunmen have killed 13 members of the ethnic Hazara minority travelling in two vehicles in a usually tranquil northern Afghan province.

The victims, all male passengers, were plucked from their vehicles and shot dead from close range in Balkh in a rare attack targeting ethnic minorities on Saturday.

“The gunmen stopped two vehicles, lined up all the male passengers and shot them dead,” said Jafar Haidari, the governor of Zari district in Balkh, where the incident occurred.

“They spared the life of one woman who was in one of the vehicles. All the victims were Hazaras.”

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the incident, but it comes as Taliban fighters ramp up attacks amid a disputed leadership transition.

Abdul Razaq Qaderi, the deputy police chief of Balkh, confirmed the fatalities, adding that officials were investigating who was behind it.

The killings bore chilling similarities to another incident in Wardak province south of Kabul, where assailants opened fire on a bus and killed 13 passengers in late March.

Masked assailants seized 31 Hazaras from a bus in the southern Afghan province of Zabul in late February as they were returning from Iran.

Nineteen of them were released in May in exchange for scores of Uzbek militant fighters held in government prisons.

President seeks foreign support

Saturday’s killings came as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani implored international donors for their continued support, saying the country faced a host of security and economic challenges.

“Rebuilding Afghanistan is going to be a long-term endeavour,” Ghani said at a conference of donors in Kabul attended by Western delegates and non-governmental organisations.

“Afghanistan is a wounded country. Widespread unemployment, a violent insurgency, and the advance of extremism across the region are increasing the likelihood that (our) economic reform agenda will be undone by political unrest.”

Taliban fighters are stepping up their summer offensive launched in late April amid a simmering leadership succession dispute after the confirmation of longtime chief Mullah Omar’s death.

Mullah Akhtar Mansour, a trusted deputy of Omar, was named as the insurgents’ new chief in late July, but the power transition has been acrimonious.

Afghan security forces, stretched on multiple fronts, are facing their first fighting season without the full support of US-led NATO forces.

NATO ended its combat mission in Afghanistan last December and pulled out the bulk of its troops although a 13,000-strong residual force remains for training and counter-terrorism operations.

Aljazeera News

Afghan Court Cancels Death Sentences in Mob Killing of Woman

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An Afghan court has overturned the death sentences for four men convicted of taking part in the shocking mob killing of Farkhonda in Kabul City some months ago, a judge said Thursday. farkhonda

Three of the men convicted of the murder of Farkhunda Malikzada in March were instead given 20-year sentences, and the fourth was sentenced to 10 years, said Appeals Court Judge Abdul Nasir Murid.

The ruling was made in a closed-door hearing on Wednesday and first reported by the independent Tolo TV. Tolo said the court acquitted the peddler at the shrine who allegedly incited the mob by falsely accusing Malikzada of burning a Quran.

The court’s decision, which has not yet been made public, has outraged her family, who said they are still waiting for justice. Lawmakers and activists also criticized the decision, saying the court had bowed to the conservative religious establishment and failed to uphold the rule of law.

“This is against the constitution. The courts should be open to the public, and this closed-door hearing undermines the credibility of the sentences,” said Shukria Barakzai, a lawmaker and women’s rights advocate.

The mob killing led to calls for judicial reform and stronger protection for women from violence. After the peddler at the Shah-Du Shamshira shrine falsely accused Malikzada of burning a Quran, a mob attacked her as police watched. After punching, kicking and beating her with wooden planks, the crowd threw her from a roof, ran over her with a car and crushed her with a block of concrete. They then set her body alight on the bank of the Kabul River.

The attack was filmed by many people in the mob, and the footage widely distributed on social media. Of the 49 people convicted, including 19 policemen accused of dereliction of duty, 37 were released last month ahead of their appeals.

Eddited by Afghan human right website

Read more: ABC news

Dispatches: Afghanistan’s Afshar Agonies Remembered

Posted in Discrimination, Genocide, War CrimesLeave a comment

by: Ahmad Shuja

Afshar

Twenty-two years ago, residents of Kabul’s Afshar district awoke to the sound of rockets launched at them from a nearby mountainside. February 11, 1993, marked the bloody dawn of the Afshar campaign, one of the worst mass atrocities of Afghanistan’s civil war of the early 1990s. Powerful militia-backed faction leaders systematically planned and coordinated the Afshar campaign as part of their battle for control of the capital. Civilians bore the brunt of the brutality as the militias shot, raped, and kidnapped at will.

It is impossible to know how many civilians were killed, or abducted and never released. Human Rights Watch documented victim accounts that describe some 80 summary executions and more than 700 kidnappings in three days; of these, 80 to 100 were freed after ransoms were paid. The rest never came home.

Afshar and its aftermath symbolize the toxic impunity that has plagued Afghanistan for decades.

The final documents of an official inquiry into the massacre were destroyed after the Taliban captured Kabul in 1996. There is no serious dispute about what happened in Afshar, and there’s ample evidence of who was responsible. But the government that came to power with international support in 2001 opted to not pursue the perpetrators of the Afshar campaign as part of a cold-blooded political calculation that traded justice for hoped-for political stability. It systematically blocked inquiries and efforts aimed at holding to account those responsible for Afshar and other mass abuses. In 2006, the Afghan parliament went so far as to give amnesty to perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity, many of whom enjoy positions of power. Former President Hamid Karzai approved the law despite promising not to do so.

The United States and other allies of Afghanistan, who squandered the opportunity to push for justice for over a decade, have worked with and supported many of the people facing credible allegations of grave human rights abuses.

But there’s still hope: a report by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission provides forensic detail of abuses between 1978 and 2001, and is an invaluable starting point for further investigations. The Karzai government opted to suppress the report, but the new government of President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Adbullah should use it to end decades of impunity.

The victims of Afshar and too many other atrocities have waited far too long for justice, but Ghani and Abdullah could bring it within reach.

HRW

Sorry Latifa, You are a Hazara !

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by an Independent Journalist ; Muhammad Younas 

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It was a pleasant day in Lal-o-Sar Jangal, Ghor Province Afghanistan. Latifa was thrilled since morning because she was going to Kabul City with her husband today for the honeymoon. Her husband, Nauroz had already told her to get all necessary stuff ready by 10pm.

Nearly a month ago, she got married with Nauroz, his village mate. She was just 22 years old, a young lady with full of dreams to enjoy the marriage life. It was early morning, when she left her bed to start the day but it was not the routine day. She couldn’t sleep properly as the honeymoon excitement kept her awake nearly all night. She hurriedly prepared breakfast for the family. Her blood was running fast in her veins. She seemed flying today—feeling over the moon. She wanted to finish all house chores as quick as possible and she also wanted to finish packing before the set time.

In the evening, her parents visited her home to see off her. She cooked a sumptuous dinner for the family. All family members enjoyed the dinner. Latifa promised to bring beautiful wool shawls, scarves from Kabul and warm shoes for her mother-in-law.

It was around 10pm, when her husband asked her to leave home. She kissed her elders’ hands to seek their blessings. In traditional Hazaragi dress, she was looking stunning with a bridal scarf. They both left home and arrived at the bus station, where a mini-bus was waiting to get them on board. The driver put their bags on the roof and tied them up. The commuters took a sigh of relief when the bus started moving forward.

“We will arrive in Kabul in the afternoon,” the driver said loudly and sped the bus bit fast.

“Why the bus doesn’t go in the morning?” she asked her husband inquisitively.

“It’s safe at night rather than in the day light,” Nauroz replied confidently.

The mini-bus was going slowly but the commuters could easily feel the jerk and the bump as it was running on the rough and unpaved road. The bus was swaying to either side when it moved bit fast. However, Latifa wasn’t feeling the knock and jolt because she was thinking about Kabul City, her honeymoon.

“Do you know which place we should see first in Kabul?” she asked.

“What do you think?” her husband replied.

“I don’t know. This is my first time going to Kabul.”

“After lunch in Kabul, we’ll take a rest for a few hours, and then we’ll go to the cinema. We’ll watch a Hindi film. What do you think?”

“Sounds great to me.”

She didn’t know how Kabul looks like. She heard a lot about Kabul City, especially Bagh-e-Babur, Bagh-e-Bala, Qargha, Kabul Zoo, cinemas and of course shopping malls. The beautiful national park Band-e-Amir and historical Bamiyan city known for its giant Buddhas were also in her list before coming home.

When the bus reached Feroz Koh, it stopped.

“Why it’s stopped?” she asked curiously.

“I think, it’s a normal checking by the authorities—not to worry,” her husband explained.

Three bearded armed men got on the bus. One of them put the gun on the head of the driver and shouted to get off the bus.

“Who are they? What are they doing?” she asked nervously.

“I don’t know—may be Taliban. Don’t know,” Nauroz said fearfully.

Both of the armed men were pulling commuters off the bus. She couldn’t believe her eyes, when a dark bearded armed man with thick eyebrows and a large nose dragged her out of the bus. She was horrified. She was made to line up beside the bus with other commuters. She also saw more armed men who were getting passengers out of the three buses and were lining them up. The women and children were crying. Armed men were asking everybody to show their ID Cards. She didn’t know, why they were asking ID Cards?

After checking ID Cards, the armed men were letting some commuters to go, while some others’ hands were being tied on their back. She started crying when her husband’s hands were tied on the back. She realized that only Hazaras were being singled out and lined them up against the bus. The armed men were kicking and punching Hazaras. After excluding Hazaras from others, armed men started torturing and shooting including women. She also felt something in her head and after that she didn’t know, what happened to her.

In the morning, the horrifying news struck to the national media and the social media networks. 15 innocent people were shot dead in Feroz Koh area including three women and a 9-month old child. Nobody was found injured. They were shot killed because they were Hazaras and Shias. Latifa’s body was lying dead beside her husband. Her hands were also tied on the back. She received several bullets but the bullet in the head took her life. She was killed because she was a Hazara and it was the only crime.

As routine, Kabul government issued clichéd statement vowing to bring terrorists to book. It’s worth mentioning, that for the past one month, around 50 Hazaras have so far been slaughtered by the religious terrorists in different parts of Afghanistan. No single terrorist in this regard was brought to justice, which is a matter of great concern for Hazaras in Afghanistan.

Angry protesters from different parts of Afghanistan including Kabul, Herath, Mazar-e-Sharif, Bamiyan and Daykundi even from Quetta City, Pakistan took to the street to express their solidarity with aggrieved family members and demanded Kabul Government to stop the killings of Hazaras in Afghanistan and provide full protection to its citizens. Many believe that if the recent ongoing Hazara killings were not stopped immediately by the government, it would further divide Afghanistan on ethnic lines.

The writer is a UK-based independent journalist and can be contacted at toyounasat@yahoo.co.uk. He tweets at @toyounasat. To read more articles, please visit http://myounas.com

Man kills three member of his family

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Local officials in Ghazni said a man in an
unprecedented crime in Ghazni province killed his wife, son and daughter by
knife.

Shukrea Wali, head of provincial women affairs department by confirming the
incident said that the victims include a 30 year old divorced woman, Hakim an
eight year old boy and Setara the ten year old girl.

Head of women affairs department of Ghazni province said “dead bodies have been taken to hospital” she added that the woman and her son’s and girl’s are likely to have been murdered by her husband.

Chief of provincial women affairs department said “the women had been beaten by her husband last year which let to divorce between them”. She adds that it has been a year that the woman was living with her three children in the Third plan are of Ghazni city.

Head of provincial women affairs department said “woman`s husband is an addicted and he also had beaten her wife many times last year”

Meanwhile, Baz Mohammad Hemmat, head of Ghazni civilian hospital in a news conference said that the dead bodies were taken to hospital at early hours of morning today.

Earlier, Mohammad Hussain, head of Ghazni police told Bokhdi News Agency that the escaped father of the family is the accused and police department is trying to arrest him and hand him over to justice.