Azaranica is a non-biased news aggregator on Hazaras. The main aim is to promote understanding and respect for cultural identities by highlighting the realities they face on daily basis...Hazaras have been the victim of active persecution and discrimination and one of the reasons among many has been the lack of information, awareness, and disinformation.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Shutter-down: Quetta closed after Hazara killings

By Shehzad Baloch

Published: March 30, 2012

The community leaders said they will not bury the bodies until and unless the arrested protestors are freed. PHOTO: PPI/ FILE

QUETTA: A complete shutter-down strike was observed in Quetta on Friday to protest against Thursday’s killings of five people, including a woman of the Hazara community.

At least five people were gunned down on Thursday morning while six others were injured, when a van carrying people belonging to the the Hazara community was ambushed on Spini road.

The Hazara community continued their protest for the second consecutive day by staging demonstrations.

Addressing a news conference at Hazara Graveyard, the Vice President of the Shia Conference said that police have rounded up several people of the Hazara community during a peaceful protest.

“We will not bury the bodies until the arrested Hazara people are released,” he said.

The strike call was given by the Hazara Democratic Party (HDP), Shia Conference and backed by Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP), Jamhoori Wattan Party (JWP) and other nationalist parties condemning the incident.

Trade and business activities in Quetta remained at a halt. All shops, trading centers, retailers and commercial establishments on Prince Road, Masjid Road, Liaquat Bazaar, Joint Road, Saryab Road, Alamdar Road, Hazara Town, Marriabad, Abdul Sattar Road, Zarghoon Road and others were closed.

Traffic remained thin and all street bore a deserted appearance.

Stringent security measures have been put on place with the heavy deployment of Frontier Corps (FC), police and other law enforcement agencies to thwart any unpleasant incident.
The Hazara community had staged a protest at the graveyard demanding an immediate arrest of culprits involved in targeted killings of the Hazara community.

The angry protestors burnt tyres on Eastern Bypass and raised slogans against the government and law enforcement agencies for their failure to protect the life and property of people.
A police official Mukham Raza was also killed during the violent protests triggered by the killings yesterday.

Police have rounded up dozens of suspects so far during their investigation.

Express Tribune

Pictorial report of Protest over killings of Hazaras in Quetta

Pictures have their own language and they do speak...
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A protester murdered by Police
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Police beating and arresting protesters
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Build bridges for harmony

Ram Puniyani on how divide-and-rule dynamics can be slowly erased in South Asia

LIFE IS full of paradoxes, and not all of them are upsetting. Some of them give a pleasant cozy feeling too. Recently, on March 25, 2012, people saw the Pakistan Deputy Attorney General Muhammad Khurshid Khan polishing the shoes of devotees in Gurudwara Rakabganj, Delhi. This work is part of seva (service) in gurudwaras. This particular tradition is part of Sikh gurudwaras. Kurshid was doing this to atone for the sins of the Taliban, who have tormented the Sikhs in many ways. He also was doing it to heal the wounds of minorities who have suffered the violence. The Taliban had abducted three Sikhs, demanding ransom. One of the Sikhs was killed. Khurshid felt the Taliban had done something inhuman, which is against Islam. Pained by this, he started this mission of bring peace and amity amongst religious communities....Continue Reading....

Our sectarian monster

By Editorial

Published: March 29, 2012

It is most tragic that the Hazaras are now being made to feel like strangers in their own land . PHOTO: AFP/ FILE

Five more people, including a woman were killed in a drive-by shooting in Quetta on March 29, in what the provincial government described as “an incident of sectarian targeted killing” while two NGO workers were shot dead the same day by unknown assailants in Mastung. There has been a manifold increase in sectarian attacks in Balochistan recently, and it seems as though the Hazara community is specifically being targeted. In addition to yesterday’s attack, there have been numerous other incidents of violence against the Hazara community. Last September, a bus full of Shias were murdered near Quetta, while a few weeks before that there was an Eid massacre of Shias in Balochistan. Amidst the military’s offensive against separatists, we tend to forget that there is another war being fought targeting the most vulnerable community in the province.

The roots of the sectarian violence, like most discrimination against minority communities, can be traced back to the military dictatorship of Ziaul Haq. In his eagerness to impose a hardline Sunni interpretation of Islam in the country, Zia created and strengthened militant groups that initially fought in Afghanistan and Kashmir, but later turned their guns on the Shia community at home. Unfortunately, successive governments in the 1990s did nothing to throttle these militant groups and the situation kept getting worse over time.

Even before that, however, the Hazara community has been singled out by those who condemn them as imposters and infidels. The Taliban regime in Afghanistan was vicious against them. In Pakistan, it was the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi that first started issuing edicts against the Hazaras. For a community that is over half a million strong, it is most tragic that the Hazaras are now being made to feel like strangers in their own land. Although efforts are being made by the government to beef up security in the city as Frontier Corps and the police have jointly launched a search operation in different areas of Quetta and arrested suspects, more needs to be done to ensure that no more lives are lost.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30th, 2012.

The shameful acts of security forces against protesters

Friends of terrorists and enemy of citizen?

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Geo Reports-Spini Road Incident-29 Mar 2012

Quetta Firing 7 killed includeing one woman

Altaf Hussain condemns terrorist attack on a Passenger Van in Quetta

Gunmen reportedly kill 6 in Pakistan including UN official

Published March 29, 2012
| Associated Press
AP

March 29, 2012: Pakistani protesters shout slogans against government to condemn killings in Quetta, Pakistan after an attack by a gunman who appeared to target local employees of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, officials said.

QUETTA, Pakistan – Gunmen killed six people Thursday in a pair of attacks in southwestern Pakistan, one of which targeted local employees of a U.N. agency, officials said.

The assailants opened fire on the staff of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization as they were riding in a car through Baluchistan province's Mastung district, killing two people, said police officer Rustam Khan.

A member of the group's project staff and a hired driver were the two people killed, said a U.N. official on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. Another staff member was wounded, he said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Baluchistan has experienced a decades-long insurgency by nationalists who demand greater autonomy and a larger share of the province's natural resources. Baluch nationalists have targeted Pakistani security forces and officials in the past, as well as aid workers helping the government.

The province is also home to many Taliban militants, allegedly including the group's leader, Mullah Omar.

Earlier Thursday, gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on a passenger van in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan, killing four Shiite Muslims in an apparent sectarian attack, police officer Shaukat Khan said.

Ahmad Marwat, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban's Jundullah faction, claimed responsibility for the shooting.

"They were Shiite infidels," Marwat told The Associated Press by telephone from an undisclosed location. "We will kill them wherever we find them."

Sunni militants with links to Al Qaeda and the Taliban have carried out scores of bombings and shootings across the country against minority Shiites in recent years, especially in Baluchistan.

The Sunni-Shiite schism over the true heir to Islam's Prophet Muhammad dates back to the seventh century.

Fox News

Dunya TV report on Spini Road Targeted Killing of Hazaras

Geo Headline (Spini Road incident)-29 Mar 2012-1000

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Six killed, seven injured (Hazaras) in Balochistan firing incidents

QUETTA: Five people lost their lives in two separate incidents of firing by some unknown armed men, early morning on Thursday, DawnNews reported.

The first attack took place in Kali Mubarak area near Spini road, Quetta, where five people (Hazaras)including a women were killed and six people were injured, when some unkown armed men opened fire.

The second attack took place in Mastung, where the vehicle of an NGO came under fire by some unknown armed men, killing two people and injuring another.

Dawn News

Earlier report,

QUETTA: Unidentified men opened fire on a car at Spini Road in Quetta that killed two persons and injured three others on Thursday, Geo News reported.

According to reports, armed miscreants opened fire on a car coming from Hazara Town to Quetta that killed two passengers and injured three others at 8:15 am.

It is important to mention that such incidents have occurred before in the same vicinity and at the same time when duties of security men are changed at 8:00 am.

Police reached the spot and traffic was resumed on the road while investigation has kicked off.

The motive of killing is still unknown.

Dawn News

Two members of Hazara community injured in Dasht

By Shehzad Baloch
Published: March 28, 2012

Gunmen shot at a car in Dasht area of Mustang on Wednesday.

QUETTA: Two people belonging to the Hazara community were injured while their three companions escaped unhurt when the car they were riding was attacked by a group of armed men near Dasht area in Mastung district on Wednesday.

According to an official of the Balochistan Levies, the five were travelling to Quetta from Mach town in a car when a group of armed men opened fire at them near Tera Mill area in Dasht. As a result of the attack, Jawad Ahmed and Khadem Hussain sustained bullet wounds while three others in the car escaped unhurt. The attackers managed to make good their escape after committing the crime.

Assistant Commissioner Dasht, Nasir Ahmed Jattak and Naib Tehsildar Mohammad Ramzan along with personnel of the Balochistan Levies reached the spot and cordoned off the area.
The injured were taken to Provincial Sandeman Hospital Quetta for treatment.

However, officials were unsure whether the attack was a sectarian attack or related to something else. “It could be an incident of sectarian targeted killing. However, a manhunt has been mounted in the area for the culprits,” an official told reporters.

The injured were later referred to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) because of security concerns.

It is pertinent to mention that as many as 26 pilgrims belonging to Hazara community were forced off a passenger bus,lined up before being shot in the dead. Similarly, a man was shot dead and another wounded in Quetta as part of a targeted attack. Both belonged to the Hazara community.
Law enforcing agencies have beefed up security on national highways and in Quetta after the attacks on Hazara community surged over the past year.

Express Tribune

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Balochistan violence: Two (Hazaras) killed in Quetta target shooting

By Our Correspondent
Published: March 27, 2012

Police official suspects sectarian motives in assault on Hazara men.

QUETTA: In a fresh spurt of target shootings on Monday, two men belonging to the Hazara community were killed when unidentified men opened fire on them on Quetta’s Sabzal Road before fleeing the scene.

As a result, Ejaz died on the spot while Asghar received critical wounds. The body and injured were shifted to Bolan Medical Complex. “The injured is in a very critical condition and was referred to the Combined Military Hospital,” doctors said.

A local police official said that it might be a case of sectarian attack. However, he hastened to add that investigations were ongoing to determine this aspect. Despite presence of paramilitary forces, target killings continue to increase in the restive province. Earlier, a young scholar was shot dead by unknown assailants in Quetta.

Police and counter-terrorism officials say that outlawed militant groups such as Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi were actively involved in fomenting sectarian hatred in the province. However, no group has claimed responsibility for the killings.

Express Tribune

Monday, March 26, 2012

US defeat won’t be Afghan victory

By Pervez Hoodbhoy
Published: March 26, 2012

The writer teaches physics and political science at LUMS. He has a doctorate from MIT.

Ever since US Sergeant Robert Bales surrendered after calmly massacring Afghan women and children, he has been depicted as a man under unusual personal circumstances. A high-ranking US official told the New York Times: “When it all comes out, it will be a combination of stress, alcohol and domestic issues – he just snapped”. Unlike those sentenced to death by drones flying high over Waziristan, Bales will enjoy a thorough investigation. Whisked out of Afghanistan, he may or may not ever be convicted. If convicted, the penalty is unlikely to exceed a few prison years; “good behaviour” may qualify him for an early parole.

Although President Obama and Secretary Clinton habitually apologise to the Afghan people after every such atrocity — of which there is a long list — the fact that they happen is inevitable. Indian troops in Kashmir, and Pakistani soldiers in Balochistan, have not behaved any differently. At the core, the problem is the forcible occupation by an army of another country or people.

The Bales case has added one more reason for cash-strapped Americans to leave, speeding up the endgame. President Obama has announced plans to shift US forces to a supporting role next year and pull out most of the 90,000 U.S. troops in the country by late 2014, with 23,000 gone by this October. US Republicans — strong enthusiasts for overseas wars and interventions — are now criticising Obama for being too slow! Rick Santorum, a leading presidential candidate, said last week “We have to either make the decision to make a full commitment, which this president has not done, or we have to decide to get out, and probably get out sooner.” A day earlier, Newt Gingrich declared in even more direct terms that it was time to leave the country.

America’s “good war” — to be distinguished from the Iraq war — is rapidly collapsing and becoming more unpopular by the day. But it once had support across the world and military success had been almost instant. Weeks after 9/11 and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan, al Qaeda was chased out and, eventually, bin Laden was killed. With time the earlier support evaporated. Except for Marine Gen. John Allen and a few others, the pretence that the US can win is almost over. It has been unable to create a stable, non-hostile Afghan government that could stop extremist groups from using Afghan territory once again. The Taliban are smelling victory.
But, much as one welcomes the US exit, America’s defeat will not be Afghanistan’s victory. The crimes of foreign occupation pale in front of the enormous crimes committed by the Taliban government, 1996-2001. Although the outside world knew the Taliban largely for having blown up the 2000-year old Bamiyan Buddha statues and their cruel treatment of women, their atrocities were far more widespread. Going from door to door, they had executed thousands in Mazar-i-Sharif after ascertaining that they were ethnic Hazaras or Shias. A 55-page UN report says that Mullah Omar’s men, while trying to consolidate control over northern and western Afghanistan, committed systematic massacres against civilians.Fifteen such massacres were committed during the period of the Taliban government until it was mercifully removed by the US invasion.

Eqbal Ahmed, who worked for Muslim causes from Palestine to Algeria, was by far the most perceptive and knowledgeable social activist and intellectual I have known. We had occasional disagreements but he too saw the Taliban as a social cancer that, if unchecked, would reduce Muslim society to medieval primitivism.

In 1998 — a year before he died — Eqbal had visited two cities under Taliban rule, Qandahar and Jalalabad. Soon after visiting a “land without music”, he wrote: “I have seen the future as envisioned by contemporary Islamists. It horrifies.” The Taliban had proscribed the pursuit of happiness: “Music is banned in historic Qandahar which had once been famous for its bards and story tellers. Play is forbidden.”

Eqbal tells of a boy he saw paraded through the bazaar; a rope around his neck, hands on his shaven head. This unlucky lad had broken the Taliban’s law. “He had been caught red handed, I was told — playing ball. Football is forbidden under Taliban rule as are basketball, volleyball and other games involving the movement of body. Boys playing ball can constitute undue temptation to men.”

Walking through the bazaars, Eqbal observed: “They are stacked with small electronic products, including transistor radios. Yet, none is playing. These bazaars are devoid of music which is banned in Qandahar, in homes no less than in public. Television is similarly banned. Homes are regularly raided, and people are harshly punished for listening to music. The chowkidar in the house next door to mine was caught in the act, and badly mauled. He misses his recorder and the tapes of ‘sweet Afghan naghma.’”

But if the Taliban are a social cancer then what cocktail of chemotherapies can work to prevent a second recurrence? There is zero chance of a secular, pluralistic democracy. Tribal Afghan society, locked into primitive concepts of honour and revenge, is likely to remain unenlightened and torn apart by internal conflicts well into the distant future. So the real question is: what could be the least bad outcome? Since we Pakistanis must live with a theocracy next door, then one can only wish for a relatively enlightened version rather than a barbaric one.
A relatively peaceful future will require that power in post-withdrawal Afghanistan be pluralistically shared by the country’s diverse ethnic groups: Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, etc. Else there will be civil war. Regional actors can and must prevent this, as well as prevent a repeat of earlier Taliban horrors. To this end, Pakistan should give up its craving for ‘strategic depth’, Iran should be brought in to the picture by the US as a helpful ally, India should refrain from intrusions into Afghanistan that might antagonise Pakistan, and China must not signal the Taliban that it can fund them in exchange for mining rights. None of this is likely but, still, why not ask for the moon. What else to do?

Published in The Express Tribune, March 26th, 2012.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Ice-cold isolation in Bamiyan

Nelson police inspector Brian McGurk, in Afghanistan on secondment with a European Union mission, reports on the extreme winter conditions and stark isolation in the Islamic central Asian nation.

This week is Nawroz, a holiday for the first day of the Persian New Year, which usually falls on the vernal equinox and marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring in Bamiyan and across all of Afghanistan.

The locals in the Hazarajet have been describing this winter as the coldest for about 15 years and in the news have been reports of people freezing to death. The harshness of the winter and the physical isolation of Bamiyan from the rest of Afghanistan has been a vastly different experience from a Nelson winter.

The first winter snowfall arrived in Bamiyan at the end of November. There has been snow on the ground constantly since the end of December and it is only in the last week or so that the snow has began to recede. The heavy snowfalls in recent days are just a reminder that winter has not quite finished.

The temperature really didn't rise above freezing any time during January or February, traditionally the coldest months. The temperature in Bamiyan hover around -10 degrees Celsius to -15C in the bright winter sunshine and often plunges down to -25C to -30C in the shade or when the sun gets low in the sky. It got even colder with temperatures of -33C recorded a few times during February.

It is a very dry cold and surprisingly it often doesn't feel as cold as it really is....Continue Reading...

کمیسیون مستقل حقوق بشر افغانستان گزارش منازعه کوچی ها ومردم محل در ولسوالی ناهور ولایت غزنی

( 31/3/1390 الي 4/4/1390)
مقدمه
در یافت فایل با فارمت و
كميسيون مستقل حقوق بشرافغانستان از طريق دفتر ساحوي خويش در زون باميان، از چندين سال به اين طرف( حداقل از سال 1385 الي اكنون) همه ساله از روند منازعه كوچي ها و مردم محل در زون باميان نظارت نموده است. ماحصل اين نظارتهاي مداوم و پيگير، نشر گزارشهاي مستند و دقيق از ميزان تلفات انساني و غير انساني منازعه و ارائه پيشنهادات مشخص به دولت در قسمت حل دايمي اين منازعه بوده است. علي رغم تلاشها و پيشنهادهاي قانوني كميسيون مستقل حقوق بشر افغانستان به دولت جهت حل دايمي و ريشه اي اين قضيه، متاسفانه هنوز گام موثر و اساسي در راستاي حل اين منازعه برداشته نشده است. بلكه اين منازعه كه اكنون به شدت رنگ وبوي سياسي به خود گرفته و برخي حلقات ذي نفع سياسي از تشديد آن سود مي برند و بهره برداري مي كنند، همه ساله قربانيهاي بي شمار انساني و غير انساني را باعث مي شود.

استفاده از علفچرها ومراتع توسط کوچی ها در مناطق مركزي از همان آغاز توام با جنگها ومنازعات زیانبار بوده و قربانی های بی شماری را تا اکنون باعث شده است. در سالهاي گذشته محراق اين منازعه ولسوالي هاي حصه اول و دوم بهسود و دايميرداد ولايت ميدان وردك بود. كه طي آن تلفات انساني و خسارات وآسيب هاي مالي بيشماري بر مردم محل وارد آمد.[1]

امسال نيز منازعه كوچي ها با مردم محل با شدت بيشتر از پيش به تاريخ 27/3/1390 با حمله كوچي ها به مناطق مختلف " خوات" ولسوالي ناهور ولايت غزني آغاز شده و به مدت سه روز با شدت تمام ادامه يافت. نتيجه اين برخورد مسلحانه، تلفات انساني و خسارات مالي هنگفي بود كه در اين گزارش به صورت مستند و همه جانبه گرد آوري شده است.

دفتر ساحوي باميان كميسيون مستقل حقوق بشرافغانستان هيئت حقيقت يابي را به منظور نظارت از روند منازعه، بررسي ميزان خسارات وارده بر طرفين منازعه و پيگيري موارد نقض حقوق بشري آن، به تاريخ 31/3/1390 به ولسوالي ناهور ولايت غزني اعزام نمود. اين هيئت علاوه بر بازديد مستقيم از مناطق آسيب ديده، معلومات لازم را از ارگانهاي دولتي، نمايندگان مردم در شوراي ملي، نمايندگان مردم در شوراي ولايتي غزني، مسئولين پوليس ملي، شاهدان عيني و خانواده هاي متواري وآسيب ديده جمع آوري نموده است. آنچه در اين گزارش مي خوانيد ماحصل تحقيقات همه جانبه اين هيئت است كه با صداي شاهدان عيني و تصاوير مستند شده است.

[1] . در مورد پشينه تاريخي منازعه كوچي ها با مردم محل در مناطق مركزي و شمار تلفات انساني و خسارات مالي ناشي از برخوردهاي مسلحانه سالهاي گذشته، به گزارش سال 1389 كميسيون مستقل حقوق بشرافغانستان مراجعه نمائيد.

Link for REPORT



AIRHC

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Two killed in Quetta firing

By: INP | March 19, 2012, 12:12 pm |

Unknown armed men gunned down two persons, a father and a son here in Quetta on Monday.
According to details, unidentified armed assailants opened fire at Yaqoob Shah and his son while they were sitting in their shop located in Qali Shaboo area of Quetta.

Both the father and the son were killed on the spot in the firing incident. The attackers fled the scene after committing dual murder.

The bodies were shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta for post-mortem.

The police registered a case against unknown murderers and started search for them.

THE NATION

Sunday, March 18, 2012

جلد چهارم سراج‌التواریخ؛ نگاهی دیگر به تاریخ افغانستان

ایوب آروین
بی‌بی‌سی
به روز شده: 16:51 گرينويچ - 18 مارس 2012 - 28 اسفند

به نوشته آقای مولایی، کاتب متعهد بود که "غیر حق ننویسد"
با چاپ جلد چهارم و بخشی از جلد سوم کتاب سراج‌التواریخ، اطلاعات تازه‌ای در باره امارت حبیب‌الله خان و زندگی فیض‌محمد کاتب، نویسنده این کتاب به دست آمده است.

این بخش از سراج‌التواریخ بر اساس نسخه قلمی آن اخیرا با ویرایش و مقدمه محمدسرور مولایی، استاد دانشگاه و پژوهشگر از سوی انتشارات امیری در کابل منتشر شده است.

جلدهای اول و دوم آن در سال ۱۳۳۱ و جلد سوم آن در سال ۱۳۳۳ هجری قمری در چاپخانه سلطنتی چاپ شد، اما تغییر نظر امیر حبیب‌الله خان در مورد این کتاب و تحولات دوره امان‌الله خان باعث شد که بقیه این کتاب منتشر نشود.

آقای مولایی این بخش از سراج‌التواریخ را در چهار مجلد چاپ کرده است. بخش اول آن را که تحولات دوره امارت عبدالرحمان را دربردارد، با عنوان "تتمه جلد سوم" و سه جلد دیگر آن را، که به شرح دوره سلطنت امیر حبیب‌الله اختصاص یافته، به عنوان بخش‌های اول، دوم و سوم جلد چهارم این کتاب منتشر کرده است.
تکان‌دهنده
این کتاب شامل شرح تکان دهنده ترین رویدادهای تاریخ معاصر افغانستان است. قتل عام، کوچ اجباری، فروش اسیران به عنوان برده و شکنجه انسان‌ها از رویدادهای دوره امارت عبدالرحمان است که شرح آنها در جلد سوم سراج‌التواریخ آمده و بخش اعظم آن در زمان سلطنت پسر او چاپ شده است.
زیرکی در تاریخ‌نویسی
"اهمیت کار کاتب در این است که او دورۀ حساسی از تاریخ افغانستان را با تفصیل کم‌نظیری بیان کرده و زیرکی او در تاریخ‌نویسی از آن جا مشخص می‌شود که به امضاهای امیر در پای صفحات نسخه قلمی سراج‌التواریخ به نشانۀ تایید مطالب آن نگاه کنیم. به نوشته آقای مولایی، کاتب متعهد بود که "غیر حق ننویسد و از سوی دیگر می‌دید که بر مردم چه‌ها که نرفته بود و انواع خلاف شرع، عرف و قانون از جانب امیر و درباریان او سر می‌زد"."

جلد چهارم سراج‌التواریخ حاکی است که هر چند حبیب‌الله خان به قصد قتل عام لشکرکشی نکرده، اما در موارد بسیاری دست کمی از پدر نداشته است. کاتب در این کتاب گزارش مفصلی از تحولات دوره امارت حبیب‌الله ارائه کرده و نوع نگاه امیر به مردم، ارتباطش با انگلیسها، شیوه حکومتداری و سرگرمی‎های او، وضعیت اقتصادی و زندان‌ها و شیوه شکنجه زندانیان در این دوره را شرح داده است.

حبیب الله خان در مورد قتل عامهای دورۀ امارت پدرش سکوت کرد و به اشغال زمینهای مردم به دست کسانی که در این کتاب از قول امیر "مهاجرین" و "ناقلین" خوانده شده، جنبه قانونی داد و اعلام کرد که دیگر این زمینها به صاحبان اولی آنها "مسترد فرموده نمی‌شود" (جلد ۴/بخش ۳/ص ۱ و ۱۱).

به نوشتۀ کاتب، در «عیش و عشرت» هیچ سلطانی در تاریخ معاصر افغانستان به پایه این امیر نمی‌رسیده است. در جلد چهارم سراج‌التواریخ از دخترانی که به سراپرده و حرم امیر راه یافتند تا دیدار او با دختران و زنان در "ارم باغ" و همچنین تقدیم پسران به عنوان "غلام بچه" به امیر از جانب سران قبایل سخن رفته است.

به نوشته آقای مولایی در مقدمه سراج‌التواریخ، کاتب به نوشتن جلد پنجم این کتاب هم پرداخته بوده و این بخش کتاب شامل تحولات دوره سلطنت شاه امان‌الله بوده است. کاتب ظاهراً تحولات یک سال اول سلطنت او را نوشته بوده، اما آنگونه کاتب خود در جلد چهارم نوشته، این کار به دستور شاه متوقف شد. (۴/۱/۲۳۰).
اهمیت کار کاتب

اهمیت کار کاتب در آن است که او دورۀ حساسی از تاریخ افغانستان را با تفصیل کم‌نظیری بیان کرده و زیرکی او در تاریخ‌نویسی از آن جا مشخص می‌شود که به امضاهای امیر در پای صفحات نسخه قلمی سراج‌التواریخ به نشانۀ تایید مطالب آن نگاه کنیم. به نوشته آقای مولایی، کاتب متعهد بود که "غیر حق ننویسد و از سوی دیگر می‌دید که بر مردم چه‌ها که نرفته بود و انواع خلاف شرع، عرف و قانون از جانب امیر و درباریان او سر می‌زد".

علاوه بر شخص حبیب‌الله خان، که تصمیم نهایی در مورد صحت نوشته‌های کاتب با او بود، گروهی از نخبگان دربار به صورت مستقیم و غیرمستقیم بر نگارش سراج‌التواریخ نظارت داشته‌اند و از آن جمله میرزا عبداللطیف خان دبیر خاص امیر و مولوی عبدالرووف خان، از دبیران برجسته دربار از جانب امیر مامور بررسی واژه‌واژه این کتاب بودند (۴/۳/۵۰۴).

تصمیم نهایی در مورد تایید درستی یا نادرستی مطالب سراج‌التواریخ با شخص امیر حبیب‌الله خان بود
علاوه بر آنها، امیر گاهی افراد دیگری را هم مامور بررسی این کتاب می‌کرد و از جمله یک بار در ۱۳۲۵ قمری به سعدالدین خان، قاضی‌القضات و چند تن دیگر دستور داد که "صحت و سقم" آن را بررسی کنند. آنها ایرادهایی بر کتاب وارد کردند، اما امیر ایرادهای آنها را نادرست خواند (۴/۳/۲۶۱ و ۵۰۴).
یکی از سرشناس‌ترین افرادی که مامور بررسی کتاب کاتب شد، محمود طرزی بود که مدیریت نشریۀ معروف سراج‌الاخبار و در زمان امان‌الله خان وزارت خارجه را به عهده داشت. کاتب خود نوشته که طرزی جلدهای اول و دوم سراج‌التواریخ را یک سال با خود نگهداشت و بعد آن را در ۱۳۳۱ قمری با انتقادها و ایرادهایی به امیر ارائه کرد.

امیر به کاتب دستور داد که به ایرادهای طرزی در حضور او پاسخ دهد. به نوشته کاتب، "از تقریری که به عزّ عرض رسید، او (طرزی) از جواب عاجز آمده، ساکت ایستاد. بعد رجوع پاکنویس آن به خود محرر شده، جای شایسته با طعام و چای از خوان حضور معین گردیده به کار پرداخته آمد" (۴/۳/۵۰۴).

فیض محمد کاتب به عنوان تاریخ‌نویس رسمی دربار امیر حبیب‌الله خان سالها در طبقۀ زیرین قصر دلگشا به کار نوشتن سراج‌التواریخ اشتغال داشت و به انبوهی از اسناد دست اول دولتی دسترسی داشت و علاوه برآن، با افراد بسیاری به عنوان تاریخ زنده آن زمان همخوان و همکلام بود.

تتمۀ جلد سوم و جلد چهارم سراج‌التواریخ به مناسبت برگزیده شدن شهر غزنی به عنوان پایتخت فرهنگی جهان اسلام در سال ۲۰۱۳ میلادی منتشر شده و سید مخدوم رهین، وزیر اطلاعات و فرهنگ افغانستان در پیشگفتار کتاب، چاپ آن را "تحفه دلپذیری" برای علاقمندان تاریخ افغانستان دانسته است.
ویرایش سراج‌التواریخ
اینکه این کتاب با ویرایش محمدسرور مولایی منتشر شده، برای بسیاری از پژوهشگران از این جهت مایه اطمینان خاطر است که این کتاب با امانت و دست‌نخورده منتشر شده باشد. آقای مولایی دقت بسیاری در ویرایش سراج‌التواریخ به خرج داده و مقدمه دوصد صفحه‌ای در شرح چگونگی نگارش آن و زندگی پرفراز و نشیب کاتب نوشته است.

محمود طرزی

"امیر به کاتب دستور داد که به ایرادهای طرزی در حضور او پاسخ دهد. به نوشته کاتب، "از تقریری که به عزّ عرض رسید، او (طرزی) از جواب عاجز آمده، ساکت بایستاد. بعد رجوع پاکنویس آن به خود محرر شده، جای شایسته با طعام و چای از خوان حضور معین گردیده به کار پرداخته آمد"
کاتب سراج‌التواریخ را چند بار بازنویسی کرده و هر بار اصلاحاتی از جانب خودش یا امیر و دبیران او بر آن وارد شده است. ظاهراً این کتاب بر اساس همان نسخه نهایی آن بدون در نظر گرفتن سانسور آن چاپ شده است ـ هر چند در متن اشاره‌ نشده که کدام بخشهای آن از جانب دبیران و امیر سانسور شده بوده است.
نسخه قلمی کتاب که در آرشیو ملی نگهداری می شود، نشان می‌دهد که امیر و افراد او در موارد متعددی بر بخشهایی از جلد چهارم سراج‌التواریخ خط کشیده و در موارد دیگر علامت‌هایی در حاشیه صفحه‌های آن رسم کرده‌اند و این بیانگر آن است که چاپ این قسمت‌ها یا برای آنها اصولاً قابل قبول نبوده یا نیاز به توضیح و استدلال داشته است.

آقای مولایی در مورد شیوۀ کار خود هم توضیح زیادی نداده و در متن کتاب هم اثر آشکاری از ویرایش آن به رسم تصحیح متون کلاسیک دیده نمی‌شود. او در مواردی که نیاز به افزودن واژه یا عبارتی بوده، آنها را در بین کمانکها [] قرار داده و ظاهرا تصور می‌شود که ویراستار تنها همین کار را انجام داده، در حالی که گستردگی کار او بسیار بیشتر از این بوده است.

همان گونه که در مقدمه کتاب هم اشاره شده، تلاشهای زیادی در زمینه حروفچینی سراج‌التواریخ به خرج داده شده است. این بیانگر آن است که در حروفچینی این کتاب احتمالا رسم الخط مورد نظر آقای مولایی به شیوه امروزی اعمال شده است. علاوه بر آن، متن کنونی دارای نشانه‌گذاری نیز است که متن نسخه قلمی فاقد آن بوده است.

ولی با وجود این، هماهنگی لازم در رسم‌الخط کتاب رعایت نشده است. به عنوان مثال، نام "اچک زایی" (۱/۴۴۶) هشت سطر پائینتر به صورت "اچکزایی" نوشته شده است. یا "آبریزه" (۴/۳/۸۰) پنج سطر پایینتر: "آب ریزه". همچنین: "ده‌مرده" (۴/۳/۱۰۲) یک صفحه بعد به صورت "ده مرده" آمده است.

اشتباههای تایپی نیز در موارد زیادی دیده می‌شود. به طور مثال: "وش فیع" (و شفیع) (۴/۳/۸۵)، جانب دارای (جانب‌داری) (۴/۲/۱۹۹)، "و افرالسرور" (وافرالسرور) (۴/۳/۴۷۳)، "علام" (اعلام) (۴/۳/۱۰۵)، "قرار داد" (قرارداد) (۴/۳/۱۰۷)، "دراین" (در این) (۴/۳/۹۰)، "درترتیب" (در ترتیب) (۴/۳/۹۱)، "واکثر" (و اکثر)، "ازاین" (از این) (۴/۳/۱۰۲).

هر چند دوره چهارجلدی سراج‌التواریخ در دست هست، اما تا حال به صورت یک‌دست منتشر نشده است
همچنین در مواردی برخی از شیوه‌های دستوری و املایی کتاب نیاز به توضیح داشته که ویراستار آنها را بدون توضیح گذاشته است. به عنوان مثال: نویسنده در این جمله «از» را به شیوه لهجۀ فارسی هزارگی آورده، در حالی که بر اساس دستور معیاری در این جمله بی‌معنی است: "خانۀ از خود و بیگانه را می‌زند" (۴/۳/۸۳ ).

یا در این جمله واژه انگلیسی پاسپورت براساس تلفظ محلی به صورت «پاسپرد» نوشته شده است: "سکنۀ خارج از خاک این دولت که پاسپرد نداشته باشند، و مترددینی که گمان دزد بر ایشان کنند، خواه از مردم داخل و خواه خارج بودند، دارای پاسپرد نباشند، گرفتار و نزد او احضار نمایند" (۴/۳/۸۴).
در چنین حالتها خوانندۀ امروزی یا منظور نویسنده را به درستی درک نمی‌کند یا آن را به حساب سهل‌انگاری نویسنده و ویراستار می‌گذارد.

همان طوری که ویراستار هم کتاب در مقدمه نوشته، وجود شرح واژگان دشوار و همچنین فهرست نمایه در این گونه کتابها از ضروریات است، ولی احتمالا به دلیل عجله‌ای که در کار چاپ کتاب وجود داشته، فرصت تهیه واژه‌نامه و نمایه برای ویراستار میسر نبوده است. این کمبود در کتاب خیلی محسوس است.
البته این کاستی‌ها در برابر کار بزرگی که محمدسرور مولایی و انتشارات امیری در چاپ چهار مجلد از سراج‌التواریخ انجام داده‌اند، ناچیز هستند و بر اساس وعده‌ای که آقای مولایی در مقدمه داده، در چاپهای بعدی آن رفع خواهد شد. بسیاریها معتقدند که با انتشار این کتاب، نجات آن از دستبرد زمانه تضمین شده است.

مشخصات کتاب:
نام کتاب: سراج‌التواریخ (تتمه جلد سوم و جلد چهارم، چهار مجلد)
مولف: فیض‌محمد کاتب
ویرایش، مقدمه و فهارس: دکتر محمدسرور مولایی
حروفچینی و صفحه‌آرایی: فرید پویان
ناشر: انتشارات امیری
سال چاپ: ۱۳۹۰
تیراژ: ۲۰۰۰ نسخه
بهای دوره ۴ جلدی: ۳۰۰۰ افغانی

BBC Farsi

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Hope students collecting for sports equipment at a girls high school in Afghanistan

On Saturday, March 31 from 5-7 pm there will be a benefit Spaghetti Dinner organized by the girls from St. Luke’s Church, Hope, Afghan School Project. Proceeds will go to buy sports equipment for a girls high school in Afghanistan. The dinner will take place in Stout Hall at St. Mary’s Church, 408 Third Street, in Belvidere.

The Afghan School Project started in 2002, when TVs were full of pictures of Afghan children, girls as well as boys, returning to school. During the years of the Taliban girls were forbidden to get education or to pursue careers outside the home. In 2002, after many years of fighting in the country, most of the schools in Afghanistan had been destroyed or badly damaged. The St. Luke’s Outreach Committee decided it would try to raise money to help build a school in Afghanistan and found a partner in the American Friends Service Committee (the Quakers), who were already in Afghanistan and had started building schools....Continue Reading....

The real extreme sport: skiing in Afghanistan

A GAGGLE of villagers deep in the mountains of central Afghanistan stared in wonder as a professional snowboarder from New Zealand launched himself over half a dozen young children, two of them perched atop donkeys.
It was one of the oddest interactions between foreigners and Afghans in the decade since US-led forces invaded the country, and the result of a surprising tourism push in a country at war.
International aid workers and enterprising locals are trying to attract snowboarders and skiers to the untouched slopes of the Koh-e-Baba mountains to improve the fortunes of Bamiyan province - the site of towering Buddha statues destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, and one of Afghanistan's poorest provinces. It's no surprise that challenges abound....Continue Reading....

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

سالگرد قتل مزاری؛ بحث تغییرنظام بالا می‌گیرد

ایوب آروین
بی‌بی‌سی
به روز شده: 16:18 گرينويچ - سه شنبه 13 مارس 2012 - 23 اسفند 1390

عبدالعلی مزاری از حامیان اصلی طرح فدرالیسم در افغانستان بود

این روزها در هفدهمین سالگرد کشته شدن عبدالعلی مزاری، رهبر پیشین حزب وحدت اسلامی افغانستان به دست اعضای گروه طالبان، بار دیگر فرصتی پیش آمده تا رهبران اپوزیسیون موضوع تغییر نظام سیاسی را مطرح کنند.

در روزهای اخیر رهبران جبهه ملی و ائتلاف ملی در مجالس گوناگون به مناسبت هفدهمین سالگرد کشته شدن مزاری در چند شهر افغانستان، موضوع تغییر نظام سیاسی را مطرح کرده‌اند. این رهبران نظام ریاستی کنونی را ناکارآمد دانسته و بر اجرای نظام پارلمانی تاکید کرده‌اند.
عبدالعلی مزاری از حامیان اصلی طرح فدرالیسم در افغانستان بود و او برای اجرایی شدن آن حمایت شماری از گروههای جهادی و سیاستمداران کشور را هم به دست آورد.

ولی آغاز جنگهای داخلی در نیمه اول دهه هفتاد خورشیدی در افغانستان که منجر به مرگ خود او پیگیری این طرح را به تقریبا فراموشی سپرد.

حالا شماری از پیروان سیاسی مزاری می‌گویند که طرح او را در مورد نظام سیاسی به نحو دیگری دنبال می‌کنند.

محمد محقق، از افراد نزدیک به عبدالعلی مزاری که درحال حاضر شاخه ای از حزب وحدت را به نام "حزب وحدت اسلامی مردم افغانستان" رهبری می کند اخیرا با ژنرال عبدالرشید دوستم رهبر پیشین جنبش ملی اسلامی و احمد ضیا مسعود معاون پیشن آقای کرزی ائتلاف جدیدی را به نام جبه ملی تشکیل داده اند.

در آغاز گفتگویی با آقای محقق، از او پرسیدم طرحی را که عبدالعلی مزاری در مورد فدرالیسم ارائه کرد، چه مشخصاتی داشت؟

استاد مزاری ــ خدا رحمت کند ــ برای شرایط جغرافیایی و قومی افغانستان، تشکیل اداره‌ای غیرمتمرکز را بهترین راه حل می‌دانست ـ به گونه‌ای که هر منطقه‌ای در چهارچوب اداره غیرمتمرکز یا فدرالی اداره شود و در مورد یک سری مسائل اساسی خود بتواند تصمیم گیری کند، از قبیل بازسازی، برگزاری انتخابات محلی، مثل بقیه کشورهای غیرمتمرکز یا فدرالی در جهان.

محمد محقق

"شهید مزاری این بحث را مطرح کرد، متناسب با همین شرایط راه حل را در این می‌دانست که مردم بر سرنوشت خود حاکم باشند، در حکومت و در تصمیم گیری ها شریک باشند. لهذا، او معتقد بود که نظام سیاسی افغانستان به اداره غیرمتمرکز تنظیم شود که حکومت فدرال در مرکز باشد و دیگر محلات هم از خود اختیاراتی داشته باشد"

جغرافیای افغانستان به گونه ای است که نحوه اداره آن ایجاب می‌کند که به صورت زونها (منطقه‌ها) یا محلاتی باشد که خود بتوانند در بسیاری مسائل تصمیم بگیرند، شرایطش هم مساعد است. مثلا در گذشته ها در زمان شاهی، کشور به همین شکل اداره می شده.

در راس (منطقه ها) نایب الحکومه ها بوده اند و مثلا نایب الحکومه ترکستان، نایب الحکومه قطغن و نایب الحکومه هرات و به همین گونه در جنوب ـ سیستم اداری، جغرافیایی و قومی افغانستان همین را ایجاب می‌کرده است.

در این اواخر که شهید مزاری این بحث را مطرح کرد، متناسب با همین شرایط راه حل را در این می‌دانست که مردم بر سرنوشت خود حاکم باشند، در حکومت و در تصمیم گیری ها شریک باشند. لهذا، او معتقد بود که نظام سیاسی افغانستان به اداره غیرمتمرکز تنظیم شود که حکومت فدرال در مرکز باشد و دیگر محلات هم از خود اختیاراتی داشته باشد.

حزب وحدت در سال ۱۳۷۱ پیش نویسی را برای تصویب قانون اساسی افغانستان پیشنهاد کرده بود که در آن تشکیل پنج ایالت در چهارچوب نظام فدرالی در کشور مطرح شده بود، حدود و ثغور نظام فدرالی در این طرح پیشنهادی چگونه مشخص شده بود؟

من این پیشنویس را نخوانده‌ام و جزئیات آن را هم نمی‌دانم. بیشتر در تهیه این پیشنویس دانشمندان و تاریخ‌دانها نظر داده بودند، مثل دکتر عبدالواحد سرابی، که از جمله شخصیت‌های کهنه‌کار در بوروکراسی افغانستان است و همچنین محمد اکبر خان نرگس در این عرصه‌ها نظریاتی داشتند. از افکار همین دانشمندان و انسانهای کهنه‌کار افغانستان در تهیه این پیشنویس مدد گرفته شده بود.

عبدالعلی مزاری و دیگر رهبران حزب وحدت اسلامی برای حمایت از طرح فدرالیسم ظاهرا پشتیبانی جنبش ملی‌-اسلامی به رهبری ژنرال عبدالرشید دوستم را با خود داشتند و با دیگر گروههای سیاسی هم گفتگوهایی داشتند، آنها در این مورد چه موضعی داشتند؟

ما از سال ۱۳۶۸ هجری شمسی بیشتر فعال شدیم برای احیای حقوق اقوام محروم افغانستان ــ اقوامی که حقوق شان نادیده گرفته شده بود ــ تلاشها را آغاز کردیم و در این راستا با بسیاری از جناحها رایزنی کردیم. در تهیه پیشنویس قانون اساسی هم از طرفهای مختلف نظرخواهی شد.

جنبش با ما در این راستا هم نظر بود، با شهید، احمد شاه مسعود هم در این راستا مذاکراتی شده بود. شباهتهایی بین نظریات ما در حزب وحدت و شهید احمدشاه مسعود وجود داشت. با بعضی از شخصیت های فکری و کارشناسهای اقوام مختلف هم صحبت شده بود.

"نظام فدرالی در شرایط فعلی بهانه برای دوستانی است که از بس که دیوانه قدرتند، فدرالیسم را مساوی با کمونیسم و الحاد می‌دانند. از این خاطر تاکید کردن بر یک نوع از نظام غیرمتمرکز ملاک نیست. ملاک رسیدن مردم به قدرت و تصمیم گیری است"

محمد محقق

چرا این طرح از طرف گروههای دیگر پذیرفته نشد؟ دلیل اصلی شکست این طرح در چه بود؟
مشکل این است که در افغانستان هر کسی که به قدرت رسید، دیکتاتور می‌شود. برای پیشبرد اهداف دکتاتورمنشانه، نظام متمرکز یک وسیله خوب است ــ مثل یک ساطور بر گردن ملتها.
متاسفانه هر کسی که در افغانستان به قدرت رسیده به انحصار قدرت فکر کرده و نه به این که قدرت را به مردم بدهد. هنوز هم همین مشکل را داریم و هر کسی که به قدرت رسید، به این فکر می‌کند که "الف تا ی" امور به دست او باشد.

در نظام متمرکز فعلی ما هم اگر از والیهایی که آقای کرزی تعیین کرده بپرسیم، دلهایشان پر از درد است. برای این که اگر یک والی بخواهد یک کیلو متر جاده را در شهر خود بازسازی کند، پیشنهادش دو سه سال در بوروکراسی مرکز می‌چرخد، بعد معلوم نیست که تصویب شود یا نشود.
در افغانستان از مامور عالی رتبه گرفته تا جاروکش شهرداری، همه باید از همانجا (مرکز کشور) تعیین شوند. این هم بسیار وقت گیر و هم فسادآور است.

زمانی که آقای مزاری به دست اعضای گروه طالبان کشته شد، پیروان او متعهد به این شدند که از اندیشه‌های سیاسی او پیروی کنند و طرح فدرالیسم هم که در محور اندیشه‌های او قرار داشت، ظاهرا از سوی پیروان او که به چند جناح تقسیم شده اند، فراموش شده است، این طور نیست؟

ما نظام غیرمتمرکز را مطرح کرده‌ایم و از دیرزمان است که در مورد آن کار می‌کنیم. وقتی که در باره قانون اساسی (۱۳۸۲) هم بحث می‌شد ما نیمی از اعضای لویه جرگه گفتیم که نظام غیرمتمرکز و صدارتی (نخست وزیری) باشد. این فریادی است که شهید مزاری هم سر داده بود.
ولی فشار آوردند، بعضی‌ها را خریدند و به بعضی دیگر مقام دادند و زلمی خلیلزاد (سفیر پیشین آمریکا در افغانستان) به آنها گفت که باید نظام متمرکز را بپذیرند.

یعنی حالا هم شما دنبال این طرح هستید؟

بله، طرح جبهه ملی را که ما مطرح کرده‌ایم، نظام صدارتی و غیرمتمرکز است. اینها چیزهایی هستند که شهید مزاری هم خواستار آن بود.

خب، ظاهرا نظام غیرمتمرکز الزاما فدرالی نیست. نظام غیرمتمرکز می‌تواند انواع مختلفی داشته باشد.
منظور افتادن قدرت به دست مردم است، قدرت از تمرکز و از دست حکومت دیکتاتور بیرون شود و اختیارات به دست مردم بیفتد. این دیگر می‌شود فدرالی باشد یا نوع دیگری از نظام غیرمتمرکز باشد.
نظام فدرالی در شرایط فعلی بهانه برای دوستانی است که از بس که دیوانه قدرت اند، فدرالیسم را مساوی با کمونیسم و الحاد می‌دانند. از این خاطر تاکید کردن بر یک نوع از نظام غیرمتمرکز ملاک نیست. ملاک رسیدن مردم به قدرت و تصمیم گیری است.

"مشکل این است که در افغانستان هر کسی به که قدرت رسید، دکتاتور می‌شود. برای پیشبرد اهداف دکتاتورمنشانه نظام متمرکز یک وسیله خوب است ــ مثل یک ساطور بر گردن ملتها. متاسفانه هر کسی که در افغانستان به قدرت رسیده به انحصار قدرت فکر کرده و نه به این که قدرت را به مردم بدهد. هنوز هم همین مشکل را داریم و هر کسی که به قدرت رسید، به این فکر می‌کند که الف تا یای امور به دست او باشد"
به این ترتیب نظام فدرالی در افغانستان اصولا قابل اجرا است؟
از نظر ما یک نظام غیرمتمرکز در افغانستان قابل اجرا است.

شما پیشتر به مخالفان اصلی طرح فدرالیسم در افغانستان اشاره کردید، می‌شود مشخص کنید که آنها در حال حاضر چه کسانی هستند و استدلال آنها برای رد این طرح چیست؟

اصولاً مخالف آن دیکتاتورها و مستبدها هستند که نمی‌خواهند مردم در تعیین سرنوشت خود دخیل باشند. با پوششی که بر استدلال خود می‌دهند، می‌گویند اجرای فدرالیسم به معنای تجزیه افغانستان است و سرانجامش تجزیه است.

این موضوع در حرفهای آقای کرزی آمده، در حرفهای آقای حکمتیار آمده و بعضی‌های دیگر هم گفته‌اند، در حالی که در هیچ جای دنیا فدرالیسم مساوی با تجزیه کشور نبوده است.

ما در استرالیا یک نظام کاملا فدرال داریم، در آلمان ما نظام فدرال داریم، در آمریکا نظام فدرال است و "ایالات متحده" است، هیچ کدام تجزیه نشده است، بلکه این نظامهای متمرکز دیکتاتور اند که سرانجام تجزیه شده اند، مثل سودان.

BBC Farsi

Sunday, March 11, 2012

سخنرانی استاد محقق پارت اول 19 حوت کابل

سخنرانی استاد محقق پارت دوم 19 حوت کابل.flv

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Video: 2nd Annual Bamiyan Ski Club Challenge

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Saturday, March 3, 2012

UK House of Commons debates Hazaras of Quetta

Hazara People (Quetta)
6:00 pm


Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—(Angela Watkinson.)

Alan Johnson (Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, Labour)
This debate is about the persecution of the Hazara community in Quetta city in the Pakistan province of Balochistan and its aim is to draw attention to their plight. The ultimate objective is to put pressure on the Pakistan authorities to do more to capture those who are responsible.

I sought this debate with my hon. Friend Dr Whitehead, who cannot be here this evening because of an engagement in his constituency, and Iain Stewart who, with your permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, will make a contribution. I know that others who have members of the Hazara community in their constituencies wish to intervene and with your permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, I am perfectly happy for that to happen.

Like many other right hon. and hon. Members, we have constituents who are part of the Hazara community in the UK. The constituent who drew this matter to my attention, Muhammad Younas, is a typical Hazara: passionate about education, law-abiding and committed to public service. He works for a social enterprise, teaching and assisting those who need his help and making an important contribution to community relations in Hull.

We are extremely grateful to the Minister for agreeing to meet us last December to discuss the issue and for being here for the debate today. As we discussed it, there was consensus that it needed to be aired on the Floor of the House of Commons, which is why I am so pleased that the debate was granted today.

There are about 600,000 Hazaras living in Quetta city and many fled there from Afghanistan, where they were a specific target for the Taliban. Hazaras in Quetta are being killed practically on a daily basis and it has been estimated that about 600 have been killed so far, yet not a single perpetrator has been captured and brought to justice.

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Mark Lancaster (Milton Keynes North, Conservative)
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way and I congratulate him on securing the debate. His point is so powerful that it deserves underlining. Does he share my concern that while that statistic of more than 600 deaths and not a single conviction remains, it is very hard to take seriously the Pakistan Government’s claim that they are tackling this matter?

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Alan Johnson (Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, Labour)
The hon. Gentleman is right. I have huge respect for the country—I went to Pakistan when I was a Minister—and for the high commissioner, but I believe that that is the key point about the Hazara community: there is no sign of any of the perpetrators being brought to justice, and it is not simply the case that they are being held but the prosecuting authorities are not being successful. That is one of the major issues in this debate and the hon. Gentleman is right to draw attention to it.

The response of the authorities in Balochistan has been to restrict the movement of the Hazaras themselves—to forbid them entering certain districts and to apply travel restrictions—and to treat the murders with a mixture of complacency and complicity. Last September/October almost 50 Hazaras were taken from buses and wagons in separate incidents, lined up and killed. The Chief Minister of Balochistan responded with levity, saying in a television interview that he would send a truckload of tissue paper to the bereaved families. That is the kind of atmosphere in which the Hazaras are living. The authorities know that the Hazaras are a target for terrorist groups and that an al-Qaeda affiliate is seeking to make Pakistan, in their words, Hazaras' graveyard. They state that their mission is to eliminate “this impure sect” and people

“from every city, every village…and corner of Pakistan.”



Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham, Conservative)
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for giving way. By way of declaration, Mr Deputy Speaker, I worked with Benazir Bhutto from 1999 to 2007. On the point about the Hazara community being affected, does the right hon. Gentleman agree that it is not the only community being affected? The Christian, Muslim, Sikh and Hindu communities are also suffering as a result of Pakistan’s having been a front-line state in the war against Russia and then in the war against al-Qaeda after 9/11. As a result, radicalisation and sectarian violence have spread from Afghanistan to Pakistan, leading to the murders of Benazir Bhutto and Shahbaz Bhatti, the Christian Minister. Of course I understand the right hon. Gentleman’s concern, but everyone has suffered as a result of the sectarian ethnic violence spreading from Afghanistan to Pakistan, not just the Hazara people.

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Alan Johnson (Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, Labour)
I do accept that point; indeed, the high commissioner for Pakistan made the same point when he contacted me today about this debate. I shall say some things later about the difficulties that Pakistan is facing, but that must not detract from the fact that these killings are taking place on a daily basis. The authorities seem remarkably complacent about it and not a single perpetrator has been brought to justice.

While the movement of Hazaras is restricted, their pursuers walk freely in the city despite the heavy presence of the police, the army and the frontier corps who all have checkpoints in and around Quetta. The reason for that persecution is not just the Hazaras’ religion—they are predominantly Shi'a Muslims—but their genetic link to the Mongol people, which allows them to be recognised by their physical appearance. Hazaras are also persecuted because have pursued higher education, enrolled in the army and occupied senior positions in government, the civil service and civic society more generally. They are the kind of law-abiding citizen who would play an important role in a free, democratic Afghanistan and a peaceful and prosperous Pakistan. Thus, they are the enemies of a whole range of terrorist groups.

The persecution—some would say genocide—carried out against the Hazaras has been well documented by the United Nations, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and organisations such as the New York-based monitoring body Human Rights Watch. However, there

is insufficient awareness nationally and internationally about what the Hazaras are going through, despite the best efforts of the Hazara community and organisations such as the Hazara Organisation for Progress and Equality, or HOPE, which seeks to raise these issues in Parliaments around the world.

The attacks are intensifying. Hazaras are murdered when they stay in Quetta and killed when they try to leave. Fifty five young Hazaras were drowned in the waters of Indonesia on 20 December when trying to escape their perilous existence. The Hazaras believe that the religious militant groups carrying out these killings are state sponsored, and there is evidence for that assertion. The Asian Human Rights Commission reported on 6 January that the Pakistan army had created a militant organisation to kill intellectuals, activists and Hazaras in Balochistan. I have seen a copy of an official letter from the Government of Balochistan informing the military authorities and the police in Quetta about the presence of a man called Sabir Mehsood, whose stated aim was to murder Hazaras, but no action was taken to apprehend him. Thus, more than 80 Hazaras were killed in Quetta by this man and his fellow operatives last year.

The international community cannot allow this persecution to continue. There are significant Hazara populations in countries around the world, particularly in Australia, and these countries should co-ordinate and intensify their efforts. I know that the Minister is fully engaged in trying to pressurise the Pakistani authorities to protect the Hazara community in Quetta, and I know that the Foreign Secretary is equally committed.

Pakistan is an old, valued and trusted ally of the United Kingdom and is seeking to renew its democratic credentials after years of military rule. It is a country beset by problems, and its citizens have suffered at the hands of terrorists more than any other country in the world, as Rehman Chishti pointed out. However, the Pakistani Government must do more to root out state-supported terrorism wherever it exists. It undoubtedly exists in Quetta city, and the Hazaras are its principal victims. It is a good place to begin this process.

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6:10 pm

Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South, Conservative)
I am grateful for the opportunity to make a short contribution to the debate. I congratulate Alan Johnson on securing it. I am happy to endorse all his points, which, in the interests of brevity, I will not repeat.

My interest in this issue, and that of my hon. Friend Mark Lancaster, stems from our having a large Hazara population in Milton Keynes. The headquarters of the Hazara Community of Great Britain charity are located in Bletchley in my constituency. It is a close-knit, progressive community, and it certainly makes a valuable contribution to the local community and wider civic life of Milton Keynes.

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Stella Creasy (Walthamstow, Labour)
I congratulate my right hon. Friend Alan Johnson on securing this debate. Like others, I have a Hazara community in my

constituency in north-east London. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that we can play an important role in supporting the Hazara community in Britain to come forward and raise concerns, and in engaging with the Foreign Office in making progress in Pakistan on some of these issues?


Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South, Conservative)
I am happy to endorse that point. My hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes North has already met a delegation from the community and the Minister. They are deeply concerned, as the hon. Lady implied, about the plight of their relatives and the broader community in Pakistan, amid what are daily reports of killings and persecution.

As the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle said, there are concerns that these attacks are not being dealt with appropriately by the authorities in Pakistan. I join him in imploring the Minister to do all he can to influence the situation. Just a few weeks ago, we all commemorated world holocaust memorial day. The campaign this year was, “Speak up, Speak out”, and was aimed at challenging persecution and hatred wherever it existed in the world. This we must do for the Hazara people. I look forward to hearing what steps the Government are taking to address the situation.

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Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham, Conservative)
Will my hon. Friend give way?



Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South, Conservative)
I was about to finish, but I will certainly give way.



Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham, Conservative)
Linked to the Hazara community, the other community that has suffered a lot as a result of radicalisation is the Christian community in Pakistan. We must do everything that we can to ensure that it gets its full right as well. Will he join me in paying tribute to Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Bishop of Rochester, who is from Pakistan and has done a lot on community cohesion and dialogue between all faiths?



Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South, Conservative)
I am happy to do that. I was at the end of my comments, so on that note, I shall conclude.


6:14 pm

Alistair Burt (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Afghanistan/South Asia, counter terrorism/proliferation, North America, Middle East and North Africa), Foreign and Commonwealth Office; North East Bedfordshire, Conservative)
I thank Alan Johnson for securing this debate and for his usual courtesy in forwarding to me a copy of his remarks earlier this afternoon. I also thank other colleagues who have taken part and expressed their concerns—Stella Creasy and my hon. Friends the Members for Milton Keynes North (Mark Lancaster), for Milton Keynes South (Iain Stewart) and for Gillingham and Rainham (Rehman Chishti). We all share a passion for Pakistan and supporting human rights across a difficult and complex region. I have met and corresponded with several colleagues in the House on a number of human rights issues in Pakistan and welcome the opportunity to discuss them in a public forum.

Last December I spoke with the right hon. Gentleman and his Hazara constituent and was told about the day-to-day living conditions of the Hazara community in Quetta. I had previously met the constituents of my

hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes North, who raised similar concerns. I expressed my serious concerns about the discrimination of minorities in Pakistan and joined the right hon. Gentleman in condemning September’s appalling attacks in Balochistan, which left so many innocent people dead.

Before talking about the Hazara community in more detail, I will take the opportunity to set some of the issues in context, as my hon. Friend the Member for Gillingham and Rainham suggested. Sadly, sectarian violence is not isolated to Balochistan. Tragically, across the country the Pakistani people have suffered from the scourge of sectarian violence. Sunni and Shi’a alike have endured terrible violence, as have other minority communities. I join the Pakistani Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, in condemning this week’s disgraceful attacks in Kohistan, which killed at least 18 Shi’a Muslims. It is vital that the perpetrators of all sectarian violence, including this week’s vicious attack, are brought to justice.

The United Kingdom and Pakistan have a long history and a strong relationship founded on mutual respect, mutual trust, and mutual benefit. Our respect for Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is absolute, so we must be clear that the security of Balochistan, as with all provinces of Pakistan, is a matter for the people and Government of Pakistan. The improvement to regional security to which the international community is committed requires all countries to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their neighbours.

Although sectarian violence across Pakistan is a growing concern, it is important to note the progress being made in a range of human rights areas, including removing reservations to human rights treaties. It is vital that Pakistan now works to ensure that it effectively implements the international human rights treaties to which it is a signatory. None of the communities of which we have spoken in the debate will truly be secure unless these advances are made.

At the dawn of Pakistan’s independence, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, in his presidential address to the first Constituent Assembly, outlined his belief that in Pakistan there should be

“no discrimination between one caste or creed and another”,

for Pakistan is founded with the

“fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one state”.

I have met many Pakistanis who are working tirelessly to realise that vision today, and none was more courageous than Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, whose work towards peaceful, moderate change was met with such brutal violence. Since his assassination I have twice met his brother, Dr Paul Bhatti, and underlined the UK Government’s support for human rights in Pakistan.

Human rights are intertwined with a wide range of issues, including education, stability and development. The UK’s engagement with Pakistan is therefore broad and strategic, covering education, economic stability, security, and cultural co-operation. The Pakistani Foreign Minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, had a successful visit to the UK last week, during which I discussed security and economic development with her and raised my concerns over the rights of religious minorities, including the Hazara community.

We work with international partners and the Pakistani Government to tackle the shared challenge of extremism and to increase Pakistan’s stability and prosperity. It is worth reminding all Members that Pakistan is on the front line of terrorism and makes bigger sacrifices in fighting it than any other country. In the 10 years since 9/11, more than 30,000 Pakistanis have been killed. The people of Pakistan will always have our sympathy, understanding and robust support in addressing terror.

The Pakistani Foreign Minister’s visit to the UK reflects the depth of our partnership and friendship. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary held wide-ranging discussions with her, within the framework of our enhanced strategic dialogue, which strengthens practical co-operation between our two countries. They discussed the progress being made to create between the UK and Pakistan a deeper and broader dialogue, including on human rights, which will strengthen our friendship and promote mutual prosperity and security.

The many links between the UK and Pakistan mean that we can engage honestly and directly with each other on many subjects: counter-terrorism, security policy, immigration, trade, development, education and the rule of law. The theme that underlines all that, and the focus of our attention this evening, is human rights.

As the constitution of Pakistan lays down, all Pakistani citizens should be able to live their lives without fear of discrimination or persecution, regardless of their religious beliefs or their ethnic group. I assure the right hon. Gentleman that we regularly reinforce to our colleagues in the Government of Pakistan at all levels the importance of upholding those fundamental rights, and our strategic dialogue enables Ministers such as myself and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary to do so on behalf of all minority communities in Pakistan.

The Government of Pakistan have taken positive action: they have reserved quotas in the public sector and in Parliament for minorities; they have set up complaints procedures for those encountering discrimination; and they have removed reservations to international human rights treaties. We will continue to support those who wish to see reform in Pakistan, and to raise human rights with the Pakistani Government. As I said, I raised my concerns about human rights with Foreign Minister Khar last week.

In 2011 I twice held constructive discussions with the Pakistani Prime Minister’s adviser on inter-faith harmony and minority affairs, Dr Paul Bhatti. Tomorrow, as some will know, marks the first anniversary of his brother’s assassination, serving as a poignant reminder not only of the need to tackle terrorism in order to support Pakistani progress on human rights, but of the losses that they have suffered. There is a process in place to ensure that inter-faith committees meet in the various provinces. I have seen it in action, and we are keen to continue to support it.

The plight of the Hazara community is connected to the wider regional dynamic. Hazara people fleeing repression in 19th century Afghanistan formed the beginnings of Pakistan’s Hazara. More refugees from Afghanistan followed throughout the 20th century, and Quetta’s population is now estimated to be made up of one third Hazara, with 600,000 in total in Pakistan.

The presence of the Afghan Taliban in Quetta has amplified the repression of Pakistani Shi’a, including Hazara, in the region. We welcome the progress made by the Hazaras of Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. It has seen high-profile Hazaras occupy key positions in the Afghan Government. In Kabul, UK officials engage with a range of Hazara interlocutors and continue to promote an inclusive political process. The Hazara community in Iran has also complained of mistreatment, and we will continue to appeal to Iran, including through the United Nations and the European Union, to respect human rights. Those details give Members a sense of how the Hazara community is treated throughout the whole region.

The specific issues of Hazara rights and of sectarian violence in Balochistan were raised with the Balochi authorities and with parliamentarians by British officials in October. Local discussion of those issues has continued since, with our officials engaging with, among others, Balochi members of the National Assembly.

The plight of Pakistan’s Hazara community, highlighted in this evening’s debate, will be recognised in the 2011 Foreign and Commonwealth Office human rights report, which is due to be published this month. Media reports claim that almost 700 Hazaras have been killed in Pakistan since 2004. In 2011, the Hazara in Balochistan suffered a number of major attacks, including on 19 September when gunmen killed 26 Hazara pilgrims returning from Iran. Lashkar-e Jhangvi claimed responsibility for that attack and has waged a sustained campaign of violence against the community. On 4 October attackers killed 13 passengers, mostly Hazara, travelling on a bus in Quetta. A major attack during the Shi’a processions marking Ashura was anticipated but did not occur.

Nawab Aslam Raisani, Chief Minister of Balochistan, formulated a committee on September 22 to probe the killing of 29 pilgrims in Mastung. I remain concerned about the low-key response of Pakistan’s authorities to September and October’s violent attacks. It is vital that those responsible are brought to justice. In the long term we should like to see improvements in Pakistani citizens’ access to justice throughout the country. The House may be assured that we will continue to press on these issues, in relation to that community and to others.

Enhancing the rule of law in Pakistan is vital to improving the plight of the Hazara community. A range of Government work is developing that is helping to improve the rule of law in Pakistan. For instance, we are developing a programme with Pakistan to enhance its ability to prosecute violent extremists, including working to enhance investigations, prosecutions, detentions, and legislation. The Department for International Development’s transformational work to address poverty and education will help to enhance Pakistan’s commitment to the rule of law. The UK is working with our European Union partners and the Government of Pakistan to look at ways of supporting reform and capacity building of Pakistan’s rule of law.

My hon. Friend Rehman Chishti raised, in particular, the Christian community. That gives me the opportunity to say how we try to deal with human rights more generally across the region. Our experience is that picking out one community rather than another is not always the most helpful way to address the issue. Because human rights

is an important issue right across the board, we find that many minorities are subject to these problems. Ensuring that the rule of law runs across all communities and that Governments are devoted to improving access to the rule of law and the rights of minorities across the board means that no minority can be picked out against another and that where there are those who would like to claim that favourable treatment is offered by those outside, that is not the case.

All are made more secure by attention to the rule of law, and all are weakened, including any minority community, by a Government’s failure to address the rule of law and human rights. That is why our policy is so determinedly aimed at the rights of communities across the board, whether it be those under pressure in Pakistan, Christian communities across the middle east, or individual communities such as the Hazara in Balochistan.



Alan Johnson (Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, Labour)
I am pleased that the plight of the Hazara will—for the first time, I believe—be covered in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office human rights document. I understand what the Minister is saying about the persecution of other religions. However, does he agree, that if no one raises the persecution of a specific group, we will never discuss any terrorist targets? Does he agree that it is very difficult to find another religion or ethnic group in Pakistan that has quite the same level of apparent compliance in these murders, with absolutely none of the perpetrators brought to justice? If there are other groups—although this is not a contest to see who has been treated worst—I would be very surprised. There is a specific issue about the Hazara that needs to be addressed.



Alistair Burt (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Afghanistan/South Asia, counter terrorism/proliferation, North America, Middle East and North Africa), Foreign and Commonwealth Office; North East Bedfordshire, Conservative)
I acknowledge the right hon. Gentleman’s second point. He has referred to terrifying statistics about the absence of justice. As I said, we remain very concerned about the response of the Pakistani authorities to those statistics, and we will apply pressure in relation to them.

In response to his first point: absolutely. Hon. Members are bound to raise the issues of individual communities. The point of our approach is to set those cases in context so that we are not pitting one community against another by indicating that one is treated worse than another, and recognising that the absence of the rule of law and human rights can affect so many people. I think that we are all doing this in exactly the right way. The right hon. Gentleman and other hon. Members are absolutely right to raise certain different communities, as they have today. We are right in putting that into context and demanding justice for all, because unless there is justice for all, justice is denied for those who are outside that embrace.

The United Kingdom will continue to work with the leaders of Pakistan and its people—people who deserve to experience a stable and prosperous future, to enjoy vibrant democratic debate without fear of intimidation, and to live in a country where freedom of religion is not undermined by sectarian violence. We have a distinctive role to play in supporting that sort of Pakistan. I am grateful for the work of many Members of the House as we continue to work with Pakistan towards that vision.

Question put and agreed to.

House adjourned.

They Work for you.com

BBC; Winter adventure on Afghanistan's ski slopes

Bamiyan was once renowned for the famous Buddha statues, destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. But now this central Afghan province is working hard to attract tourists to its snowy slopes with a ski festival, writes BBC Afghan's Ramin Anwari.

"Forget about war, forget about terrorism. For now, this is all about having fun," declares one participant at Bamiyan's international ski competition held in the mountains of Khoshkak, a 30-minute drive from the capital of Bamiyan province.

Although the ski competition is in its second year, this is the first time that foreigners have taken part. There are about 20 skiers from outside Afghanistan, alongside 10 local competitors who have been newly-trained.

This is part of an ambitious plan to promote adventurous activities in different parts of Afghanistan, a country exhausted by more than three decades of war and destruction....Continue Reading...

Tomorrow we will be killed —Dr Mohammad Taqi


It is up to the Pakistani minorities — the Shia, Ahmediyya, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs — whether they want to continue to ask the enablers of genocide to intercede on their behalf or raise the issue on every international forum possible

In his poignant account of the genocide in Rwanda ‘we wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families: Stories from Rwanda’, Peter Gourevitch quotes from Plato’s The Republic: “Leontius, the son of Aglaion, was coming up from the Piraeus, close to the outer side of the north wall, when he saw some dead bodies lying near the executioner, and he felt a desire to look at them, and at the same time felt disgust at the thought, and tried to turn aside. For some time he fought with himself and put his hand over eyes, but in the end the desire got the better of him, and opening his eyes with his fingers he ran forward to the bodies, saying: ‘There you are, curse you, have your fill of the lovely spectacle’.”

So here I am again, cursing my eyes but still opening them with my fingers to see what has become a weekly spectacle in the land of the pure and the pious: yet another mass murder of the minorities. On February 28, 2012 armed men stopped a convoy of two buses and a van, travelling on the Karakoram Highway in the Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Reportedly, the passengers had their identity checked at gunpoint. Some of them were ordered to dismount. They were then lined up and shot at point blank range. Nineteen of them died on the spot and eight are reported injured. The buses were returning to Gilgit-Baltistan from a pilgrimage of the Shiite Islamic holy sites in Iran. All those murdered were Shia. The terrorist group Jundallah has claimed responsibility for the executions.

At the time of this writing, the mainstream media had not reported the names of those executed. Let me state for the record that those killed were: Raza Ali, Hussain Ali, Karim Abbas, Anees Hussain, Kaleem Abbas, Hashmat Changezi, Mohsin Abbas, Muhammad Abbas, Mubashir, Idrees Ali, Owais Husain, Kaleem Abbas (of Barmas), Farhan Ali, Faraz Hussain, Tehseen Abbas, Saqalain, Asad Zaman, Ambareen and Fatima.

Within minutes of many obscure happenings the traditional and contemporary media are alight with the particulars of those events — some more trivial than a pinprick on the skin of history. But when it comes to the slaughter of the minorities in Pakistan there is a certain lag time in publishing even sketchy details. And then the tepid coverage itself never goes beyond a truncated news cycle compared to other issues and events that are regurgitated ad infinitum. Hardly an analysis or a talk show ever focuses on such mass atrocities. It is not clear why every such massacre becomes a Leontius moment for the media. Do they find the freshly executed corpses disgusting to look at or is it something else?

But my disgust is reserved for the executioners who stand atop their victims thumping their chests. Nay, they mount the centre stage at the Difa-i-Pakistan rallies in full view of the news media, gloating about their achievements. And what achievements might those be? Clearly, the ilk of Malik Ishaq of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Maulana Ahmad Ludhianvi of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan rechristened as the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) do not have any scientific inventions or charitable projects to their credit; their only claim to fame is the barbaric massacres of the Shia of Pakistan.

Holding hands with these bigots on the stage, spotted every week, are leaders of the mainstream political and religious parties like Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and the Jamaat-e-Islami. The junta’s court jester Sheikh Rashid Ahmed of Rawalpindi, the son of that arch-hypocrite General Ziaul Haq, Mr Ijazul Haq, a former federal minister for religious affairs and minorities no less (woe be on his appointer) and the granddaddy of the Taliban, Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, are also seen on this stage. The common denominator between this parade of hate-mongers is their perceived, known or (in some cases) self-confessed association with the Pakistani army.

Much has been written about the relationship of the Pakistani army and its clients, the Takfiri jihadists, but what is interesting is that the Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik has appointed an Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) man as part of the team supposed to investigate the present carnage. Maybe he did so in good faith. After all, many voices from the minority groups have been demanding safety and justice from the pack of wolves that passes for the state in Pakistan. In fact, the Shia and Ahmediyya never did notice that the Pakistani state, in which they were heavily vested, had shifted loyalties forty years ago. It is pertinent to note a letter written by seven Tutsi pastors who had taken refuge inside a Seventh-day Adventist church in Kibuye, Rwanda, after which Peter Gourevitch had titled his book.

The preachers and other Tutsis inside the church had known that the Hutus had marked them out for murder the next day. Out of luck and out of wit, the seven pastors decided to beseech the president of the Adventist Church, Pastor Elizaphan Ntakirutimana — a Hutu — to help rescue and protect them. They wrote:

“Dear leader, we hope that you are well in these times that are so trying. We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families...and we hope that you will intercede on our behalf and try to help us at this time, as a man of influence, as the president of the church, to go and talk to the mayor, to try and help stay the authorities who are planning to kill us.”
History records that all of the seven pastors were killed the next day along with hundreds of other Tutsis at the Mugonero complex. As is now well documented, the Pastor Ntakirutimana did not just fail to intercede on their behalf but, along with his son Dr Gérard Ntakirutimana, actually helped organise the pogrom! The father and son not only pointed the marauding Hutus to the Tutsi hideout but also helped transport them. The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda later issued an indictment against Pastor Ntakirutimana for organising the massacres. He was convicted and sentenced to 10 years.

It is up to the Pakistani minorities — the Shia, Ahmediyya, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs — whether they want to continue to ask the enablers of genocide to intercede on their behalf or raise the issue on every international forum possible. The Baloch have a taken a lead in this for they know that those committing genocide and their handlers are repeat offenders and would not stop on their own.

The writer can be reached at mazdaki@me.com. He tweets at http://twitter.com/mazdaki

Daily Times

Friday, March 2, 2012

نخستین رقابت اسکی‌بازان خارجی و افغان در بامیان

به روز شده: 12:39 گرينويچ - جمعه 02 مارس 2012 - 12 اسفند 1390

بامیان برای ورزش اسکی بسیار مناسب دانسته می شود
نخستین مسابقه اسکی روی برف با شرکت ورزشکان داخلی و خارجی در منطقه کوهستانی بامیان در مرکز افغانستان برگزار شده است.

امیر فولادی، مسئول بخش برنامه ها در بنیاد توسعه ای آغاخان در بامیان گفت که در این مسابقه ۲۰ اسکی باز خارجی و ۱۰ اسکی باز داخلی شرکت داشتند.
شرکت کنندگان خارجی این مسابقه عمدتا از کشورهای بریتانیا، آمریکا، سوئیس و هند هستند.
به گفته مقام های دولتی در بامیان، هدف از برگزاری این مسابقه، که روز جمعه، ۱۲ حوت/اسفند در دامنه کوه "بابا" برگزار شد، جذب گردشگران خارجی و داخلی است تا این منطقه بتواند پای گردشگران را در چهار فصل سال به این منطقه بکشاند.
سال گذشته هم مسابقه اسکی در بامیان برگزار شده بود، اما در آن مسابقه تنها ورزشکاران داخلی شرکت داشتند.

این نخستین بار است که ورزشکاران خارجی در یک مسابقه اسکی در بامیان شرکت می کنند.
مهدی مهرآئین، روزنامه نگار محلی در بامیان می گوید که مسابقه روز جمعه با استقبال مردم مواجه شده و حضور خارجی ها هم در آن نسبتا خوب بوده است.
قرار است تا چند روز دیگر به مناسبت هشتم مارچ/ مارس، روز جهانی زن، نیز مسابقه ای با شرکت دختران و زنان اسکی باز، در بامیان برگزار شود.

پیش از این بامیان در فصل زمستان به دلیل سردی و برفگیر بودن، جاذبه چندانی برای گردشگران نداشت، اما حالا با فراهم شدن زمینه های ورزشی و سرگرمی های زمستانی، علاقمندی برای سفر به بامیان بیشتر شده است.

بامیان یکی از مشهورترین مناطق تاریخی افغانستان است که دو پیکره بزرگ بودا، در آن جا ساخته شده بود، اما در زمستان ۲۰۰۱ میلادی به وسیله طالبان منفجر شدند.

علاوه بر آن، هزاران مغاره ساخته شده در دل کوه، که در چند سده پیش از اسلام محل عبادت و آموزش راهبان بودایی بودند و همچنین شهرهای تاریخی غلغله و ضحاک در مرکز بامیان دیدنی هستند.
قلعه چهل برج در منطقه یکه اولنگ، در غرب شهر بامیان و چند محل دیگر در مرکز این ولایت هم از جاذبه های گردشگری بامیان محسوب می شوند.

BBC Farsi

A brief history of Hazara persecution

By Dr Saleem Javed


A refugee Hazara boy in the New Jalozai Camp


A bill in the US Congress that backs the Baloch "right of self-determination" days after a congressional hearing on Balochistan, and the emotionally charged reactions to these developments in Pakistan, both ignore the persecution of the Hazara community in the violence-hit province.

Analysts say the community is of no strategic or electoral importance to Pakistani leaders, and might be seen in the US as pro-Iran because it is Shia.

The Dari-speaking Hazara people live in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, and are believed to be of Turk-Mongol descent. They are mostly Shia, with small Sunni and Ismaili minorities.



Hazaras in Afghanistan:

In a single incident in 1998, Iranian forces killed more than 630 refugees, mostly Hazaras, in the Safed Sang Camp detention center
According to Qaseem Akhgar, a prominent Afghan historian and political analyst, Hazara people have been living in Afghanistan for more than 2,000 years. Their persecution began after their land, the Hazarajat, was taken over by Amir Abdul Rehman Khan in the late 19th century. Hundreds of thousands of Hazara were killed, enslaved or forced to flee their homeland. Those who survived were persecuted by successive Afghan regimes. In 1933, a young Hazara highschool student Abdul Khaliq assassinated Nadir Shah, the king of Afghanistan, to avenge discrimination against his people.

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 and Mazar-e-Sharif with impunity from 1998 to 2001.

Hazaras in Iran:

The persecution of Hazaras began after their land was taken over by Amir Abdul Rehman Khan in the late 19th century
In Iran, the Hazaras are known as Khawaris, or Barbaris (barbarians), because of their phenotypic similarities with the Mongols. Most of them live in Mashhad, Turbat-e-Jam, Darrah Gaz and Nishaboor. Although a majority of Iranian population is Shia, the Khawaris are a marginalized community that has sought to protect their ethnic and cultural identity from state oppression. Iran also hosts a significant population of Hazara refugees from Afghanistan.

In a single incident in 1998, Iranian forces killed more than 630 refugees, mostly Hazaras, in the Safed Sang Camp detention center. A film about the incident was not shown in Afghanistan after what insiders call the Iranian president's "personal request" to his Afghan counterpart.


Hazaras in Pakistan:

Banned militant outfits have threatened to make Pakistan "a graveyard for the Shia Hazaras" and have asked them to leave the country by 2012
The Hazaras in British India were less marginalized and even joined the British army. In 1904, Major CW Jacob of the 126th Balochistan Infantry, who later became Field-Marshal Sir Claude Jacob, raised the 106th Hazara Pioneers with drafts from the 124th Duchess of Connaught's Own Balochistan Infantry and from his own regiment. They were a class regiment comprising eight companies of Hazaras. According to Hazara community leader Sardar Sa'adat Ali Hazara, "Among those who were recruited in various arms of the Indian Defence Services during World War II in 1939 was Gen Musa Khan. He later became the commander-in-chief of Pakistan Army, and was honoured for his services in the 1965 war against India."

Unfortunately, the persecution of Hazaras began in Pakistan in 1998 with the assassination of Gen Musa Khan's son Hassan Musa in Karachi. On July 4, 2003, 53 people died and 150 were hurt in a suicide attack on a Hazara mosque in Quetta. It was the first attack of its kind. Since then, more than 700 Shias, most of them Hazaras, have been killed in gun attacks, rocket attacks, mass killings and suicide bombings in Balochistan.

Banned militant outfits have threatened to make Pakistan "a graveyard for the Shia Hazaras" and have asked them to leave the country by 2012.

"The locations of the hideouts and training camps of the groups involved in attacks on Hazaras are not secret," Sardar Sa'adat said. "The government and the law-enforcement agencies seem to have no interest in protecting us."

The Hazara people are not allowed in certain parts of Quetta, including the Sariyab Road where Balochistan University is situated.

According to Asmat Yari, the president of Hazara Students Federation (HSF), "Almost 75% of Hazara students have quit the university and those who remain cannot attend classes because of fear." School attendance has also decreased by 10 percent this year, and college attendance by 25 percent. Parents do not let their children take exams in centers outside of the areas deemed safe for the Hazaras.

Thousands of young Hazaras have fled to Europe and Australia, often illegally, to escape the oppression. On December 20, 54 Hazara boys drowned when their boat sank near Java, Indonesia. Only seven bodies have been received so far. Another 23 Hazaras drowned near Malaysia on February 1.

"That the Hazara young men chose to leave Pakistan by taking such grave risks," the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan sad in a statement, "is a measure of the persecution the Hazara community has long faced in Balochistan."

Saleem Javed is a medical doctor by profession and a freelance journalist based in Quetta. He blogs at saleemjavid.wordpress.com and tweets @mSaleemJaved

Friday Times

Thursday, March 1, 2012

رضا رضایی در 12 بهترین ستاره افغان 2011

Why We Couldn't Change Afghanistan

The West's military engagement in Afghanistan is entering its eleventh year and has another two years to go before the end of combat operations in 2014. Whatever the result of the international conferences that began last year in Istanbul and Bonn to elicit support for a successor state, one thing is clear: after Western forces draw down, Afghanistan won't bear much resemblance to the Western vision that fueled the intervention in the first place. However effective Western military organizations are in transitioning to Afghan control, the country's future will not be decided primarily by the residual structures and legacies of Western involvement, the current Taliban insurgency or even any formal process of reconciliation. Rather, it will be decided more by the country's ethnic character, the particular nature of local and national governance, and the influence of neighboring powers with enduring geopolitical and strategic imperatives in the region far stronger than those of the West.In other words, the future of Afghanistan will be determined by forces that antedate the latest Western effort to direct a turbulent area--and which probably will long survive this and future efforts to dominate the country. (An analysis closer to ground reality)...Continue Reading...