Thread by @mSaleemJaved

#Hazaras of #Afghanistan (thread):
They are the country’s 3rd largest ethnic group. There has never been a census based on ethnicity. They are estimated to constitute about 20% of the population, though Hazaras themselves claim between 25-30%. Predominantly #Shia +Sunni, Ismaili

#Hazaras speak Persian (Dari) and are arguably considered to be genetically Turk-Mongol with central Asian features. Predominantly dwelling in central #Afghanistan, called Hazarajat (the land of Hazaras) They also dwell in #Pakistan’s Balochistan and #Iran.

According to some historians “the Hazara people have been living in #Afghanistan for more than 2,000 years.” And their persecution began after the subjugation and incorporation of their land (Hazarajat) by the brutal Afghan king, Amir Abdul Rahman Khan in late 19th century.

He committed genocide against Hazaras and asked Sunni clerics to issue fetwa (a religious decree) to declare them infidels. Hundreds of thousands of Hazara were killed, enslaved or forced to flee their homeland. Those who survived were persecuted by successive Afghan regimes

The most recent spate of violence against the #Hazara people began with the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. They killed thousands of Hazaras in Bamiyan, Yakaolang, Mazar-e-Sharif and rest of Hazarajat with impunity from 1998 to 2001.

The #Hazaras welcomed removal of #Taliban regime in 2001 and wholeheartedly cooperated with international community for the establishment of a democratically elected government in #Afghanistan. They were among first people who voluntarily submitted their weapons & supported Govt.

But the attacks against the community continued even in the presence of int’l forces. Mass kidnappings and killings took place in southern and central provinces under Taliban influence.
Taliban factions competed with each other in killing #Hazara civilians in show of brutality.

In 2015, for instance, the terrorists had identified and separated #Hazara passengers from two public buses in Zabul and then executed them summarily by slitting their throats, which included even a pre-teenage girl.
hrw.org/node/283416/pr…