Persecution of Hazaras

Short description: Persecution of the Shia Afghan ethnic group

Template:Hazara people

Part of a series on

Discrimination

General forms

* Age
* Caste
* Class
* Disability
* Education
* Economic
* Employment
* Genetic
* Hair texture
* Height
* Housing
* Language
* Looks
* Race / Ethnicity / Nationality
* Rank
* Sanity
* Sex
* Sexual orientation
* Size
* Skin color
* Species

Specific forms

Social

* Acephobia
* Adultism
* Amatonormativity
* Anti-albinism
* Anti-autism
* Anti-homelessness
* Anti-intellectualism
* Anti-intersex
* Anti-left handedness
* Anti-Masonry
* Antisemitism (Judeophobia)
* Aporophobia
* Audism
* Biphobia
* Clannism
* Cronyism
* Drug use
* Elitism
* Ephebiphobia
* Fatism
* Gerontophobia
* Heteronormativity
* Heterosexism
* HIV/AIDS stigma
* Homophobia
* Leprosy stigma
* Lesbophobia
* Misandry
* Misogyny
* Nepotism
* Pedophobia
* Perpetual foreigner
* Pregnancy
* Reverse
* Sectarianism
* Supremacism
* Black
* White
* Transphobia
* Non-binary
* Transmisogyny
* Vegaphobia
* Xenophobia

Religious

* Ahmadiyya
* Atheism
* Baháʼí Faith
* Buddhism
* Catholicism
* Christianity
* post–Cold War era
* Falun Gong
* Hinduism
* Persecution
* Islam
* Persecution
* Jehovah's Witnesses
* Judaism
* Persecution
* LDS or Mormon
* Neopaganism
* Eastern Orthodox
* Oriental Orthodox
* Protestantism
* Rastafarianism
* Shi'ism
* Sufism
* Zoroastrianism

Ethnic/national

* African
* Albanian
* American
* Arab
* Armenian
* Australian
* Austrian
* British
* Canadian
* Catalan
* Chilean
* Chinese
* Croat
* Dutch
* English
* Estonian
* European
* Filipino
* Finnish
* French
* Georgian
* German
* Greek
* Haitian
* Hazara
* Hindu
* Hispanic
* Hungarian
* Igbo
* Indian
* Indonesian
* Iranian
* Irish
* Israeli
* Italian
* Japanese
* Jewish
* Khmer
* Korean
* Kurdish
* Malay
* Manchu
* Mexican
* Middle Eastern
* Mongolian
* Pakistani
* Pashtun
* Polish
* Portuguese
* Quebec
* Romani
* Romanian
* Russian
* Scottish
* Serb
* Slavic
* Somali
* Soviet
* Tatar
* Thai
* Turkish
* Ukrainian
* Venezuelan
* Vietnamese
* Western

Manifestations

* Animal industrial complex
* Animal testing
* Blood libel
* Blood sport
* Bullying
* Carnism
* Compulsory sterilization
* Counter-jihad
* Cruelty to animals
* Cultural genocide
* Defamation
* Democide
* Disability hate crime
* Dog-whistle politics
* Eliminationism
* Enemy of the people
* Ethnic cleansing
* Ethnic conflict
* Ethnic hatred
* Ethnic joke
* Ethnocide
* Forced conversion
* Freak show
* Gay bashing
* Gendercide
* Genital modification and mutilation
* Genocide
* examples
* Glass ceiling
* Hate crime
* Hate group
* Hate speech
* Homeless dumping
* Indian rolling
* Lavender scare
* LGBT hate crimes
* Lynching
* Meat eating
* Mortgage
* Murder music
* Occupational segregation
* Persecution
* Pogrom
* Purge
* Red Scare
* Religious persecution
* Religious terrorism
* Religious violence
* Religious war
* Scapegoating
* Segregation academy
* Sex-selective abortion
* Slavery
* Slut-shaming
* Trans bashing
* Victimisation
* Violence against women
* White flight
* White power music
* Wife selling
* Witch-hunt

Policies

* Age of candidacy
* Blood purity
* Blood quantum
* Crime of apartheid
* Disabilities
* Catholic
* Jewish
* Ethnocracy
* Ethnopluralism
* Gender pay gap
* Gender roles
* Gerontocracy
* Gerrymandering
* Ghetto benches
* Internment
* Jewish quota
* Jim Crow laws
* Law for Protection of the Nation
* McCarthyism
* MSM blood donation restrictions
* Nonpersons
* Numerus clausus (as religious or racial quota)
* Nuremberg Laws
* One-drop rule
* Racial quota
* Racial steering
* Redlining
* Same-sex marriage (laws and issues prohibiting)
* Segregation
* age
* racial
* religious
* sexual
* Sodomy law
* State atheism
* State religion
* Ugly law
* Voter suppression

Countermeasures

* Affirmative action
* Animal rights
* Anti-discrimination law
* Cultural assimilation
* Cultural pluralism
* Diversity training
* Empowerment
* Feminism
* Fighting Discrimination
* Hate speech laws by country
* Human rights
* Intersex rights
* LGBT rights
* Masculism
* Multiculturalism
* Nonviolence
* Racial integration
* Reappropriation
* Self-determination
* Social integration
* Toleration
* Veganism
* Vegetarianism

Related topics

* Allophilia
* Anthropocentrism
* Anti-cultural, anti-national, and anti-ethnic terms
* Bias
* Christian privilege
* Civil liberties
* Cultural assimilation
* Dehumanization
* Diversity
* Ethnic penalty
* Eugenics
* Internalized oppression
* Intersectionality
* Madonna–whore complex
* Male privilege
* Masculism
* Medical model of disability
* autism
* Multiculturalism
* Net bias
* Neurodiversity
* Oikophobia
* Oppression
* Police brutality
* Political correctness
* Polyculturalism
* Power distance
* Prejudice
* Prisoner abuse
* Racial bias in criminal news
* Racism by country
* Religious intolerance
* Second-generation gender bias
* Snobbery
* Social exclusion
* Social model of disability
* Social stigma
* Stereotype
* threat
* The talk
* White privilege

* v
* t
* e

The Hazaras have long been the subjects of persecution by both Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as non-state militant groups. The Hazaras are mostly from Afghanistan, primarily from the central regions of Afghanistan, known as Hazarajat. Significant communities of Hazara people also live in Quetta, Pakistan , and in Mashad, Iran, as part of the Hazara and Afghan diasporas.

During the reign of Emir Abdur Rahman Khan (1880–1901), millions of Hazaras were killed, expelled and enslaved.[1] Syed Askar Mousavi, a contemporary Hazara writer, claimed that half the population of Hazarajat were killed or fled to neighbouring regions of Balochistan in British India[2] and Khorasan in Iran.[1] This led to Pashtuns and other groups occupying parts of Hazarajat. The Hazara people have also been the victims of massacres committed by the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Conditions improved for the Hazaras in Afghanistan during the post-Taliban era. However, Hazaras who lived in the southern provinces of Afghanistan continued to face unofficial discrimination at the hands of Pashtuns.[3] Moreover, Hazaras in Afghanistan are still subjected to attacks by the Taliban, and a 2018 attack was committed in Malestan District in the Hazara's homeland in central Afghanistan.[4] Throughout the 2000s and early 2010s, Hazaras in Balochistan, Pakistan, faced attacks from militant groups like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. In the mid-2010s, the security situation improved for Hazaras in Balochistan. However, the improved protection that resulted from the placement of walls and checkpoints around their city has also made their lives difficult.[5]

## Contents

* 1 Afghanistan
* 1.1 Persecution and marginalization
* 1.2 Improvements and recognition
* 1.3 Post-communist era
* 1.3.1 Afshar
* 1.3.2 Mazar-i-Sharif
* 1.3.3 Robatak Pass
* 1.3.4 Yakawlang
* 1.3.5 Bamyan
* 1.4 Islamic Republic era
* 1.4.1 2010 Khas Urozgan attack
* 1.4.2 2015 Zabul beheadings
* 1.4.3 2016 Dehmazang bombings
* 1.4.4 2016 Ashura attacks
* 1.4.5 2018 university preparatory academy bombing
* 1.4.6 2019 wedding bombing attack
* 1.4.7 2020 mourning ceremony attack
* 1.4.8 2020 maternity hospital attack
* 1.4.9 2020 education centre attack
* 1.4.10 2020 Bamyan bombing
* 1.4.11 Mundarakht massacre
* 1.5 Islamic Emirate (2021–present)
* 1.5.1 Balkhab persecutions
* 2 Pakistan
* 2.1 Quetta
* 2.2 Response
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 5 Bibliography

## Afghanistan

Hazaras are historically the most restrained ethnic group in the state and as a result, they have only experienced slight improvements in their circumstances even with the setup of modern Afghanistan. The discrimination against this ethnic group has continued for centuries, and it has been instigated against them by Pashtuns and other ethnic groups.[6][7] Syed Askar Mousavi, a contemporary Hazara writer, estimates that more than half of the entire population of Hazarajat was driven out of its villages, including many who were massacred. "It is difficult to verify this estimate, but the memory of the conquest of the Hazarajat by Abdur Rahman Khan certainly remains vivid among the Hazaras themselves, and it has heavily influenced their relationship with the Afghan state throughout the 20th century. The British from neighboring British India, who were heavily involved in Afghanistan, did not document such a large figure".[1] Others claim that Hazaras began to leave their homeland of Hazarajat in search of employment due to injustice and poverty, mostly during the 20th century.[8] Most of these Hazaras immigrated to neighboring Balochistan, where they were provided permanent settlement by the British colonial government.[2] Others settled in and around Mashad, Iran.[8]

The Hazaras of Afghanistan faced severe political, social and economic tyranny and denial of basic civil rights.[6] In 1933, Abdul Khaliq, a Hazara student assassinated king Nadir Khan.

### Persecution and marginalization

Notably, after the Second Anglo-Afghan War, Shah Abdur conducted a campaign of repression in Hazarajat, but it was met with fierce opposition by Hazara tribal leaders. The first uprising was conducted in correlation with Shah Adbur's cousin, Mohammad Eshaq who sought to overthrow the Shah. This revolt of Hazara nationalists and anti-Shah partisans was brief, because Shah Adbur astutely used sectarian strife to divide the Hazara Shias and the Sunni partisans, thus allowing him to easily defeat his foes.[9]

The defeat of the Hazaras in their first revolt allowed Shah Adbur to impose taxes on Hazarajat for the first time, and they severely impeded the autonomy of Hazarajat, because numerous Pashtun soldiers and government officials were garrisoned in Hazarajat in order to ensure its compliance with the Pashtun-run state. Subsequently, the Pashtuns garrisoned in Hazarajat, treated the local Hazaras inferiorly and often committed arbitrary acts of cruelty and brutality against them. This caused great unrest and a deepening hatred between the Hazaras and their Pashtun rulers, causing the Hazaras to reach their tipping point in 1892.[9]

The outrage that followed allowed the Hazaras to unite once again in order to overthrow most of the local Pashtun garrisons in Hazarajat. This newfound zealous fever fermented fierce resistance against Shah Adbur and his forces. Witnessing the rising tide, Shah Adbur felt he had no choice but to wage a jihad against the Shia Hazaras, and under this casus belli Shah Adbur was able to muster around 150,000 troops. The resulting conflict was brutal and led to a great loss of life on both sides [citation needed]. The Hazaras fought with vigour but the attrition they faced due to lack of rations, led to their demise at the uprising's epicenter of Oruzgan [citation needed].

### Improvements and recognition

Despite the "democratic" 1964 constitution that contained universal suffrage, political and social rights for minorities were still not guaranteed. That decade the first Hazara minister was appointed by the King. Under the first communist Khalq government, Hazaras were persecuted again, a particular episode being the Chindawol uprising in 1979 when hundreds of Hazaras went missing. Their persecution was not kept secret - for instance Abdullah Amin, brother of Hafizullah Amin, expressed anti-Hazara comments during a public speech that year. Following the Soviet Union's intervention and creation of the Parcham government under Babrak Karmal, Hazara rights had improved and the party's constitution declared all races and ethnicities in Afghanistan as being equal. During the 1980s, Hazaras became more prominent in the army and the ruling communist party, and one Hazara politician, Sultan Ali Keshtmand, would serve as Prime Minister for most of the decade. The Hazaras were split over the Soviet-Afghan War - most of the urban population supported and fought for the communist regime in Kabul, where they were now officially equal, but most of the rural Hazara population rejected the reforms and resisted.[10]

### Post-communist era

The Hazara Hezb-e Wahdat militia and party joined the new mujahideen government of the Islamic State of Afghanistan, and some members held government posts. However they would soon be discriminated against and would be excluded from the administration. At the same time, violent ethnic conflict broke out between Hezb-e Wahdat and the Saudi-backed Wahhabi Ittihad-i Islami militia led by Abdul Rasul Sayyaf.[10] The Hazara claim the Taliban executed 15,000 of their people in their campaign through northern and central Afghanistan.[11]

#### Afshar

In February 1993, a two-day military operation was conducted by the Islamic State of Afghanistan government and its allied Ittihad-i Islami militia. The military operation was conducted in order to seize control of the Afshar district in west Kabul where the Shia Hezb-e Wahdat militia (which was allied to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Sunni Hezb-i Islami and backed by Pakistan) was based and from where it was shelling civilian areas in northern Kabul.[citation needed] 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 Hazaras. 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,[12] were abducted and never returned by Abdul Rasul Sayyaf's men. These abducted victims were most likely killed or died in captivity.[13][14]

#### Mazar-i-Sharif

Mazar-i-Sharif Anti-Hazara massacre

Part of Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif (1997–98)
Date| August 1998
Target| Extermination of Hazaras particularly combat aged males

Attack type

| Genocidal massacre[15]
Deaths| 2,000 to 20,000
Perpetrators| The Taliban
Motive| Anti-Hazara sentiment, Pashtun nationalism, Anti-Shia sentiment, Jihadism, revenge for massacre of Taliban POWs

Following the 1997 massacre of 3,000 Taliban prisoners by Abdul Malik Pahlawan in Mazar-i-Sharif[16] (which the Hazaras did not commit[17] ) thousands of Hazaras were massacred by other Taliban members in the same city in August 1998.[18] The slaughter has been credited to a number of factors—ethnic difference, suspicion of Hazara loyalty to Shia Iran, anger at the loss of life suffered in an earlier unsuccessful Taliban takeover of Mazarwas—including takfir by the Taliban of the Hazaras.[19] After the attack, Mullah Niazi, the commander of the attack and the new governor of Mazar, declared from several mosques in the city in separate speeches:

> Last year you rebelled against us and killed us. From all your homes you shot at us. Now we are here to deal with you. (...)
> Hazaras are not Muslim, they are Shia. They are kofr [infidels]. The Hazaras killed our force here, and now we have to kill Hazaras. (...)
> If you do not show your loyalty, we will burn your houses, and we will kill you. You either accept to be Muslims or leave Afghanistan. (...)
> [W]herever you [Hazaras] go we will catch you. If you go up, we will pull you down by your feet; if you hide below, we will pull you up by your hair. (...)
> If anyone is hiding Hazaras in his house he too will be taken away. What [Hizb-i] Wahdat and the Hazaras did to the Talibs, we did worse...as many as they killed, we killed more.[20]

At 10 am on 8 August 1998, the Taliban entered the city and for the next two days drove their pickup trucks "up and down the narrow streets of Mazar-i-Sharif shooting to the left and right and killing everything that moved—shop owners, cart pullers, women and children shoppers and even goats and donkeys."[21] More than 8,000 noncombatants were reportedly killed in Mazar-i-Sharif and later in Bamiyan.[22] In addition, the Taliban were criticized for forbidding anyone from burying the corpses for the first six days (contrary to the injunctions of Islam, which demands immediate burial) while the remains rotted in the summer heat and were eaten by dogs.[23] During these killings 2,000[24][17] to 5,000,[17] or perhaps up to 20,000[25] Hazara were systematically executed across the city.[17][25] The Taliban went door to door of Hazara households searching for combat age males,[17] shooting them and slitting their throats right in front of their families.[17] Hazaras were shoved into trailers where they suffocated to death or died of heat strokes,[24][17] and were later dumped into piles in the middle of the desert.[17] The Taliban randomly shot anti-aircraft weapons at civilians into the middle of the city;[17] causing drivers to swerve out of control and run people over.[17] Human rights organizations reported that the dead were lying on the streets for weeks before the Taliban allowed their burial due to stench and fear of epidemics.[24] Niamatullah Ibrahimi described the killings as "an act of genocide at full ferocity."[15]

Members of Pakistan's ISI claimed the killings were only done after trials,[17] however the Taliban had Pakistani fighters alongside them during their siege of the city.[17]

#### 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 Baghlan 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.[26][27]

#### Yakawlang

In January 2001 the 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; it 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.[27][28]

#### Bamyan

The United Nation investigated three mass graves allegedly containing victims of massacres in 2002 within Bamyan.[11]

### Islamic Republic era

There was a significant improvement in the status and treatment of Hazaras in Afghanistan after the Karzai administration came to power.[29] The new 2004 Afghan constitution now recognizes them as one of the country's ethnic minorities, and they now have the full right to Afghan citizenship. Hazaras were well represented in Karzai's government,[30] and in 2010 Afghan parliamentary election, Hazaras won around 25 per cent of the seats.[31] As of 2007, Hazaras have also pursued higher education, enrolled in the army, and many have top government positions.[32] For example, Muhammad Mohaqiq, a Hazara from the Hizb-i-Wahdat party, ran in the 2004 presidential election in Afghanistan, and Karim Khalili became the Vice President of Afghanistan. Since ousting the Taliban in late 2001, billions of dollars have been poured into Afghanistan for several large-scale reconstruction projects that took place from August 2012. For example, there have been more than 5000 kilometers of road pavement completed across Afghanistan, of which little was done in central Afghanistan Hazarajat. On the other hand, the Band-e Amir in the Bamyan Province became the first national park of Afghanistan. The road from Kabul to Bamyan was also built, along with new police stations, government institutions, hospitals, and schools in the Bamyan Province, Daykundi Province, and others. The first ski resort of Afghanistan was also established in the Bamyan Province.[33]

A large degree of discrimination against Hazaras continued. A new danger in the form of ISIS has become especially prominent in recent years, and they have carried out abductions, extortions and violent killings against Hazaras.[34] The rising power of warlords, who the Hazara people perceive as a direct threat, has also been a matter of concern. There have been ethnic tensions and violent clashes with nomadic Kuchis over land access issues.[31] Taliban fighters continue to abduct and execute Hazaras travelling in vehicles. Furthermore, anti-Hazara sentiments became stronger when the former director of the National Directorate of Security, Amrullah Saleh, accused Iran of interfering in Afghan affairs through Shias.[35] Hazara activists still believe that the government does not serve their people's security needs sufficiently. Parts of central Afghanistan, like the unofficial Hazara capital Bamiyan, are among the country's poorest and often lack even basic necessities like water and electricity.[34] Hazara people held a protest in March 2016[citation needed] against the government's decision to move a proposed power line project out of Bamiyan, seeing it as another form of ethnic discrimination.

#### 2010 Khas Urozgan attack

In June 2010, at least nine Hazara men were killed in an ambush in Khas Urozgan District of Uruzgan Province. The Taliban took responsibility for the attack.[36]

#### 2015 Zabul beheadings

In November 2015, Afghan militants claiming loyalty to the Islamic State beheaded seven ethnic Hazara civilians who had been abducted in Zabul Province in southern Afghanistan. Their throats were cut with pieces of metal wire.[37] The victims were four men, two women, and a 9-year-old girl named Shukria Tabassum.[38] The killings sparked off the Tabassum movement of large-scale protests by women and men of multiple ethnicities in November 2015.[39][40]

#### 2016 Dehmazang bombings

On July 23, 2016 two Islamic State suicide bombers blow themselves during the peaceful protest 'Junbish Roshnaye' in Kabul killing 160 and wounded over 200 people.[41] The attackers were reportedly from the local affiliate of the so-called Islamic State, known as the "Khurasan Province" (IS-Khurasan).[42]

#### 2016 Ashura attacks

18 people were killed and 54 were injured in July 2016 at Kabul's landmark Sakhi Shrine by a gunman wearing an Afghan National Security Forces uniform. The attack took place on the eve of Ashura, the Shia mourning day. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Islamic State, or ISIS.[43] The next morning, an improvised electronic device (IED) killed at least 15 Hazara people in the Balkh province of northern Afghanistan. ISIS claimed responsibility for this attack as well. These attacks show the growing threat of the IS to the Hazara people.

#### 2018 university preparatory academy bombing

In August 2018, a bomb hit a university preparatory academy in a Hazara neighborhood of Kabul. The bombing, which left 48 dead and 67 others injured, was claimed by ISIS.[44]

#### 2019 wedding bombing attack

On August 17, 2019, a wedding of a Hazara couple in Kabul was bombed. Responsibility for the attack, which left 63 people dead and 182 injured, was claimed by ISIS.[45]

#### 2020 mourning ceremony attack

On March 6, 2020, a mourning ceremony was held in commemoration of the death of Abdul Ali Mazari, a Hazara leader, in 1995. The commemoration, held in the Dashte Barchi neighborhood of Kabul, was attacked by gunmen, with 32 people killed and between 58 and 81 people injured. According to Nasrat Rahimi, the interior ministry spokesman, all of the casualties were civilians. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by ISIS.[46]

#### 2020 maternity hospital attack

On May 12, 2020, gunmen stormed a maternity hospital in Dashte Barchi, a majority-Hazara neighborhood of Kabul. The attack left at least 24 people dead, including two newborns.[47][48][49]

#### 2020 education centre attack

On October 25, 2020, a suicide bomber detonated in the street outside of the Kawsare Danish centre, an education centre in a heavily shia Hazara neighbourhood in the Pule Khoshk area of Dashte Barchi in western Kabul. At least 30 were killed and 70[50] more were injured in the attack. Most of the victims were students between the age of 15 and 26. A Taliban spokesman on Twitter has denied responsibility for the attack. Islamic State, or ISIS, has said it was behind the attack in a statement on Telegram without providing evidence.[51][52]

#### 2020 Bamyan bombing

On November 24, 2020, two bombs hidden at the side of a road in Bamyan city, killed 14 and injured 45 others.[53]

#### Mundarakht massacre

On 4–6 July 2021, Amnesty International reported, the Taliban tortured and killed nine Hazara men in the village of Mundarakht, Malistan District. Six of the victims were shot and three more were "tortured to death".[54]

### Islamic Emirate (2021–present)

#### Balkhab persecutions

On 3 July 2022, in the rural areas around Balkhab District, the Taliban committed a series of war crimes against the local Shia Hazara population, those include the execution of 150 civilians after long torture,[55] playing music and dancing in Shia Mosques, Shia seminaries, and schools before turning them into military bases,[56] killing Hazaras due to their ethnicity,[57] seizing homes and vehicles belonging to Hazara civilians,[58] causing hundreds of families to flee to the mountains and not allowing aid workers to reach them which led to the death of 3 infants.[59]

## 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. Many Hazaras were enlisted in the British Indian Army, beginning with enlistment into the Presidency armies during the First Anglo-Afghan War. The mass-migration and permanent settlements started in the 1890s when Emir Abdul Rahman Khan started persecuting the Hazaras of Afghanistan.[60] The majority of Hazara are Shi'as with a sizable Sunni Muslims minority. Pakistan is home to an estimated 10% Shia Muslim population. Sectarian violence in Pakistan started in 1980s.

### Quetta

Main article: Social:Persecution of Hazara people in Quetta

In 2011 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.[61] One third of the victims are children. 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 and other terrorist attacks on Hazara People in Quetta.[62][63]

The Al-Qaeda affiliated Pakistani Sunni Muslim extremist militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, has claimed responsibility for most of these attacks.[64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71]

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 against these killings and against the silence of international community.[72][73] Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, the political leader of the Hazara in Afghanistan, has also expressed solidarity with the Hazara community in Quetta.[74][75] 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.[76][77][78][79][80][81] EU parliamentarian Rita Borsellino has urged the international community to address the plight of Hazara people in Quetta.[82] British MPs Alistair Burt, Mark Lancaster, Alan Johnson, and Iain Stewart asked the British government to pressure Pakistani authorities concerning the absence of justice for Hazara community in Pakistan.[62][83]

As a consequence of the attacks there has been a recent exodus of Hazaras trying to flee the violence. They are headed mainly to Australia and 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.[84][85]

On October 10, 2017, when two unidentified attackers on a motorcycle opened fire on a van heading for a nearby vegetable market, killing the driver and four others, continuing the trend of attacks against Hazaras in Quetta. This series of bombings, attacks and assassinations have forced them to retreat to two heavily protected enclaves on either side of the city: Marriabad and Hazara Town.[86]

An attack occurred on the night of 3 to 4 January 2021, in which terrorists slaughtered 17 Hazara persons who were working as miners at Mach.[87][citation needed]

### Response

In response, many members and leaders of Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ) have been killed in military operations conducted by the army and the police.[88][89][90][91][92]

## See also

* List of anti-cultural, anti-national, and anti-ethnic topics

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Alessandro Monsutti (December 15, 2003). "HAZĀRA ii. HISTORY". Encyclopædia Iranica. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hazara-2.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Who are the Hazara". Pak Tribune. http://tribune.com.pk/story/267225/who-are-the-hazara/.
3. ↑ "Afghanistan: Information on situation of Hazaras in post-Taliban Afghanistan". Refworld. 4 April 2003. https://www.refworld.org/docid/3f52085b4.html.
4. ↑ "Afghan Hazaras slaughtered and Australian families want action". Al Jazeera. 30 November 2018. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/afghan-hazaras-slaughtered-australian-families-action-181130021409272.html.
5. ↑ "Quetta's Hazara: The community caged in its own city". BBC News. 12 December 2017. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42219669.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Hazara People". National Geographic - GeoPedia. 2008. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/geopedia/Hazara_People.
7. ↑ Askary, Sitarah Mohammadi,Sajjad. "Why the Hazara people fear genocide in Afghanistan" (in en). https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/10/27/why-the-hazara-people-fear-genocide-in-afghanistan.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "HAZĀRA". Arash Khazeni, Alessandro Monsutti, Charles M. Kieffer. United States: Encyclopædia Iranica. December 15, 2003. http://iranicaonline.org/articles/hazara-1.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 The history of Hazara people.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "EScholarship@McGill". http://digitool.library.mcgill.ca/webclient/StreamGate?folder_id=0&dvs=1554153397094~147.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Caroll, Rory (7 Apr 2002). "Pits reveal evidence of massacre by Taliban". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/apr/08/afghanistan.unitednations.
12. ↑ John Lee Anderson (2002). The Lion's Grave. Atlantic Books. p. 224. ISBN 1-84354-118-1.
13. ↑ "Ittihad". Human Rights Watch. 2006. http://hrw.org/reports/2005/afghanistan0605/5.htm#_Toc105552365.
14. ↑ Phil Rees (December 2, 2001). "A personal account". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/correspondent/1682466.stm.
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Ibrahimi, Niamatullah (January 2009). "DIVIDE AND RULE: STATE PENETRATION IN HAZARAJAT (AFGHANISTAN) FROM THE MONARCHY TO THE TALIBAN". Crisis States Research Center Working Paper 42 - Development as State Making -: 14. https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/95939/WP42.2.pdf.
16. ↑ "Afghan powerbrokers: Who's who". BBC News. November 19, 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1615824.stm#pahlawan.
17. ↑ 17.00 17.01 17.02 17.03 17.04 17.05 17.06 17.07 17.08 17.09 17.10 17.11 Cooper, Kenneth J. (November 28, 1998). "TALIBAN MASSACRE BASED ON ETHNICITY". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1998/11/28/taliban-massacre-based-on-ethnicity/efe15f81-abed-4e57-96f1-046cc59d1d48/.
18. ↑ "The Massacre in Mazar-I Sharif". https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports98/afghan/Afrepor0.htm.
19. ↑ Rashid, Ahmed (2002). "Mazar-e-Sharif 1997: Massacre in the north". Taliban: Islam, Oil and the New Great Game in Central Asia. London: I.B. Tauris. p. 55–75. ISBN 9781860648304. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
20. ↑ "Incitement of violence against Hazaras by governor Niazi". Afghanistan, the massacre in Mazar-e-Sharif. Human Rights Watch. November 1998. https://www.hrw.org/reports98/afghan/Afrepor0-03.htm#P186_38364.
21. ↑ Rashid,Taliban (2000), p.73.
22. ↑ Goodson, Afghanistan's Endless War, (2001), p.79.
23. ↑ THE MASSACRE IN MAZAR-I SHARIF, THE FIRST DAY OF THE TAKEOVER.
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 "THE MASSACRE IN MAZAR-I SHARIF". November 1998 Vol. 10, No. 7 (C). https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports98/afghan/Afrepor0.htm.
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Gizabi, Akram. "Opinion: US–Taliban peace talks betray the trust of the Afghan people". Military Times. https://www.militarytimes.com/opinion/2019/07/14/opinion-ustaliban-peace-talks-betray-the-trust-of-the-afghan-people/.
26. ↑ "Massacre at Robatak Pass, May 2000". Human Rights Watch. 2006. https://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/afghanistan/afghan101-04.htm#P176_25561.
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 "Fact Sheet: The Taliban's Betrayal of the Afghan People". Office of International Information Programs. 2001. http://usinfo.org/wf-archive/2001/011017/epf312.htm.
28. ↑ "Massacre in yakaolang". Human Rights Watch. 2006. https://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/afghanistan/afghan101-03.htm#P126_15001.
29. ↑ "Refworld | Afghanistan: Information on situation of Hazaras in post-Taliban Afghanistan". https://www.refworld.org/docid/3f52085b4.html.
30. ↑ "Afghanistan: Who are the Hazaras?". https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/06/afghanistan-hazaras-160623093601127.html.
31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 "Afghanistan Hazaras". June 19, 2015. http://minorityrights.org/minorities/hazaras/.
32. ↑ Sappenfield, Mark (August 6, 2007). "Afghanistan's success story: The liberated Hazara minority". Christian Science Monitor. https://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0806/p06s02-wosc.html?page=2. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
33. ↑ Levinson, Charles (March 7, 2012). "Since Skiing Came to Afghanistan, It Has Been Pretty Much All Downhill". Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203458604577263343870606130.
34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Hucal, Sarah. "Afghanistan: Who are the Hazaras?". http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/06/afghanistan-hazaras-160623093601127.html.
35. ↑ Ali Seerat, Rustam. "Peril and Persecution in Afghanistan". https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/08/27/peril-and-persecution-in-afghanistan/.
36. ↑ Alissa J. Rubin (June 26, 2010). "Taliban Kill 9 Members of Minority in Ambush". The New York Times: p. A6. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/26/world/asia/26kabul.html.
37. ↑ Mujib Mashal; Taimoor Shahnov (November 10, 2015). "Afghan Fighters Loyal to ISIS Beheaded 7 Hostages, Officials Say". The New York Times: p. A10. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/world/asia/afghan-fighters-loyal-to-isis-beheaded-7-hostages-officials-say.html.
38. ↑ Ishaan Tharoor (November 12, 2015). "The beheading of a 9-year-old girl prompted huge protests in Afghanistan". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/11/12/the-beheading-of-a-9-year-old-girl-prompted-huge-protests-in-afghanistan/.
39. ↑ Alizada, Nazifa (2016-11-30). "One Year After Tabassum, Afghan Women Search for Their Own Voice". The New Humanitarian. https://deeply.thenewhumanitarian.org/womenandgirls/articles/2016/11/30/plot-sideline-gambias-first-female-presidential-candidate.
40. ↑ van Bijlert, Martine (2015-11-12). "The 'Zabul Seven' Protests: Who speaks for the victims?". https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/the-zabul-seven-protests-who-speaks-for-the-victims.
41. ↑ "Kabul explosion: Islamic State 'admits attack on Hazara protest'". BBC Asia. 23 July 2016. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36874570.
42. ↑ Rafiq, Arif (July 28, 2016). "The Persecution of Afghanistan's Hazaras Has Less to Do with Religion Than You Think". http://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-persecution-afghanistans-hazaras-has-less-do-religion-17174.
43. ↑ Shuja, Ahmad (October 13, 2016). "Afghanistan's Shia Hazara Suffer Latest Atrocity". https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/10/13/afghanistans-shia-hazara-suffer-latest-atrocity.
44. ↑ "Bombing kills 48 Afghan college hopefuls in Kabul" (in en). https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/afghanistan-bombing-attack-kills-48-hazara-college-hopefuls-kabul-n900916.
45. ↑ "'It's inhumane': Hazara react after 63 killed in targeted ISIS attack" (in en). The World from PRX. https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-08-19/its-inhumane-hazara-react-after-63-killed-targeted-isis-attack.
46. ↑ "Dozens killed in attack on political rally in Kabul" (in en). Guardian News & Media Limited. 6 March 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/06/dozens-killed-in-attack-on-political-rally-in-kabul.
47. ↑ "Babies among 24 killed as gunmen attack maternity ward in Kabul". https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/afghanistan-gunmen-storm-kabul-hospital-200512071439807.html.
48. ↑ Axelrod, Tal (May 13, 2020). "Death toll rises to 24 in attack on Afghan maternity hospital". Capital Hill Publishing Corp.. https://thehill.com/policy/international/497539-death-toll-rises-to-24-in-attack-on-afghan-maternity-hospital.
49. ↑ "Babies killed as gunmen storm maternity ward". BBC. 12 May 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52631071.
50. ↑ "Latest: At Least 30 Killed in Saturday's Blast in Western Kabul". https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-167292.
51. ↑ Reuters
52. ↑ "Afghan bombing: Kabul education centre attack kills at least 24". BBC News. October 25, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54676319.
53. ↑ "Officials: Roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan kills 14". https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/officials-roadside-bomb-attack-afghanistan-kills-14-74378862.
54. ↑ "Afghanistan: Taliban responsible for brutal massacre of Hazara men – new investigation". 19 August 2021. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/08/afghanistan-taliban-responsible-for-brutal-massacre-of-hazara-men-new-investigation/.
55. ↑ "Taliban Fighters Execute 150 Civilians in Balkhab - Hasht-e Subh Daily". https://8am.af/eng/amp/taliban-fighters-execute-150-civilians-in-balkhab/.
56. ↑ "Taliban Turns Shiite Mosques, Religious Schools and Schools into Military Bases in Deserted Balkhab District - Hasht-e Subh Daily". https://8am.af/eng/amp/taliban-turns-shiite-mosques-religious-schools-and-schools-into-military-bases-in-deserted-balkhab-district/.
57. ↑ "Massive Human Rights Violations Against Hazaras in Balkhab: Reports - Hasht-e Subh Daily". https://8am.af/eng/amp/massive-human-rights-violations-against-hazaras-in-balkhab-reports/.
58. ↑ "Taliban Seize Private Properties As War Booty in Balkhab District, Sar-e Pol - Hasht-e Subh Daily". https://8am.af/eng/amp/taliban-seize-private-properties-as-war-booty-in-balkhab-district-sar-e-pol/.
59. ↑ "Infant Desperately Dies in Balkhab District As IDP's Needs for Basic Necessities Increase - Hasht-e Subh Daily". https://8am.af/eng/amp/infant-desperately-dies-in-balkhab-district-as-idps-needs-for-basic-necessities-increase/.
60. ↑ http://minoritysupportpakistan.com/The_Hazara_Shia_of_PakistanvApril_16_edited.pdf[yes|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
61. ↑ "International commission demanded to probe Hazara killings". Samaa Tv. 2011-10-01. http://samaa.tv/newsdetail.aspx?ID=37032&CID=1.
62. ↑ 62.0 62.1 "Pakistan Needs to make Sure Minorities Rights: Alistair". The Daily Outlook Afghanistan. http://outlookafghanistan.net/news?post_id=3620.
63. ↑ Editorial (2011-09-02). "Death and joy". The Express Tribune. http://tribune.com.pk/story/243565/death-and-joy/.
64. ↑ "LeJ blamed for killing Hazaras in Quetta". Central Asia Online. http://www.centralasiaonline.com/en_GB/pakistan-articles/caii/features/pakistan/main/2011/07/19/feature-01.
65. ↑ chandru. "Pakistan: Another Massacre of Hazaras in Balochistan By Pro Al-Qaeda Elements". Southasiaanalysis.org. http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers48/paper4711.html.
66. ↑ "The Quetta Shura Taliban: An Overlooked Problem | International Affairs Review". Iar-gwu.org. 2009-11-23. http://www.iar-gwu.org/node/106.
67. ↑ "A threat to the world". The Spectator. 2006-08-19. http://www.spectator.co.uk/essays/all/24639/a-threat-to-the-world.thtml. [yes|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
68. ↑ "Pakistan should crack down on Taliban, UN official says". International Herald Tribune. 2007-01-09. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/09/world/asia/09iht-afghan.4146522.html?_r=1.
69. ↑ "Genocide of Hazaras – A Reality Check". Hazara People International Network. April 4, 2012. http://www.hazarapeople.com/2012/04/04/genocide-of-hazaras-a-reality-check/.
70. ↑ "A Victim of Being Hazara and Shia in Pakistan". Wahdat News. http://www.wahdatnews.com/archives/253.
71. ↑ Raza, Ahmed (2010-11-24). "Top Balochistan minister alleges extrajudicial killings". BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11832034.
72. ↑ "World Wide Protest Against Genocide in Pakistan and Afghanistan". Kabul Press. http://kabulpress.org/my/spip.php?article82704.
73. ↑ "International Day of Protest against killing of Hazaras in Pakistan". MelbourneProtests 2007-2011. October 1, 2011. http://melbourneprotests.wordpress.com/2011/10/01/international-day-of-protest-against-killing-of-hazaras-in-pakistan-melbourne-1-october-2011/.
74. ↑ "Speech of Ustad Haji Mohaqiq | Against the targeted Killings and genocides of Hazaras in Pakistan". YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeH-oinJ4zo.
75. ↑ "There can be no peace without peace in Afghanistan: Gilani". 2011-10-21. http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/21/there-can-be-no-peace-without-peace-in-afghanistan-gilani.html.
76. ↑ "Pakistan: Authorities must tackle brazen attacks on Hazara Shi'a". Amnesty International. October 3, 2011. https://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/pakistan-authorities-must-tackle-brazen-attacks-hazara-shi’-2011-10-07.
77. ↑ Retrieved 2.4.2012
78. ↑ "Pakistan: Protect Shia Muslims". Human Rights Watch. December 3, 2011. https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/12/03/pakistan-protect-shia-muslims.
79. ↑ Retrieved 2.4.2012
80. ↑ Accessed 2.4.2012
81. ↑ "How the Taliban slaughtered thousands of people". RAWA. http://www.rawa.org/times.htm.
82. ↑ "Il Genocidio Dimenticato Degli Hazara In Pakistan, Solidarieta' Di Rita Borsellino". Ritaborsellino.it. http://www.ritaborsellino.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=759:il-genocidio-dimenticato-degli-hazara-in-pakistan-solidarieta-di-rita-borsellino&catid=35:archivio-news&Itemid=59.
83. ↑ "UK House of Commons debates Hazaras of Quetta". Wahdat News. 2012-03-01. http://www.wahdatnews.com/archives/429.
84. ↑ Walsh, Declan (2013-04-27). "Fleeing Violence in Pakistan, Hazaras Brave Uncertain Journey". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/world/asia/fleeing-violence-in-pakistan-hazaras-brave-uncertain-journey.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&hp.
85. ↑ Zofeen T. Ebrahim. "Hazaras: Exodus to the land down under". DAWN. http://dawn.com/2012/09/19/hazaras-exodus-to-the-land-down-under/.
86. ↑ Hashim, Asad. "Hazara Shia Muslims attacked in Pakistan's Quetta". http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/10/gunmen-target-hazara-shia-muslims-quetta-city-171009094724088.html.
87. ↑ http://www.aljazeera.com
88. ↑ "Pakistani forces kill five Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militants: Officials". The New Indian Express. http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2016/dec/05/pakistani-forces-kill-five-lashkar-e-jhangvi-militants-officials-1545904.amp.
89. ↑ "Two suicide bombers belonging to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi killed in operation". Daily times. https://dailytimes.com.pk/241240/two-suicide-bombers-belonging-to-lashkar-e-jhangvi-lej-killed-in-balochistan-operation-ispr/.
90. ↑ "Over 860 Terrorists, Criminals Killed by Pakistan Security Forces in Karachi Operations". NDTV. https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/over-860-terrorists-criminals-killed-by-pakistan-security-forces-in-karachi-operations-1239562.
91. ↑ "Pakistan's Army Kills Commander Of Islamist Militant Group In Balochistan". RFERL. https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-army-kills-commander-islamist-militant-group-lashkar-e-jhangvi-balochistan-badeni/29231434.html.
92. ↑ "New LeJ leader killed in encounter with Punjab CTD". Express Tribune. https://tribune.com.pk/story/1299441/ctd-kills-new-lej-leader-punjab/.

* "World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Afghanistan : Hazaras". Refworld, UNHCR. http://www.refworld.org/docid/49749d693d.html.
* Dr Saleem Javed. "Insight: A brief history of Hazara persecution". Friday Times. http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta2/tft/article.php?issue=20120302&page=5.1.

## Bibliography

* James Minahan (2002). Encyclopedia of the stateless nations. 2. D - K. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 727–. ISBN 978-0-313-32110-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=d2WcCIm6WaQC&pg=PA727.
* Frank Clements (2003). Conflict in Afghanistan: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 106–. ISBN 978-1-85109-402-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=bv4hzxpo424C&pg=PA106.

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