جب ھم پاکستان کی تاریخ پر نگاہ ڈالتے ہیں تو ھمیں ایک ایسی مخصوص استبدادی انداز فکرکا پتہ چلتا ہے جسکی ھمیشہ یہی کوشش رہی ہے کہ حکومتی بھاگ دوڈ کو عوام کی پہنچ سے ھر ممکن دور رکھیں۔ وقت کے ساتھ ساتھ اس مخصوص گروہ کی عیاری مزید قوتّ پکڑتی گیی اور اسطرح عوام اورمعاشرے کے بڑے اسٹیک ھولڈرز کواپنے مفادات کے لیّے نہ صرف استعمال کیا گیا بلکہ انکو امور مملکت سے بھی دور رکھا گیا۔ مثّلا، آزادی کے صرف چند سال بعد ھی باباے قوم محمد علی جناح (رح) ھم سے جدا ھو جاتے ھیں جو بظاھر انکی خرابی صحت کی وجہ سے تھی مگراسکے برعکس بااعتماد ذرایع کا مانا ہیں کہ باباے قوم کو جان بوجھ کر زیارت جیسی ٹھنڈی جگہ پر بھیجا گیا تاکہ اسکی صحت تیزی سے خراب ھو جو بلآخر انکی طبعیی موت پر منتتج ھوی۔  اسکے علاوہ، پاکستان کے پہلے وزیراعظم اور تحریک آزادی کے سرکردہ بانیوں میں سے ایک، لیاقت علی خان کا قتل آج تک ایک معمہّ ہی رہا جو اب ھمیشہ کےلیے سرد خانہ کی نظر ھو گیی ہے۔

بدقسمتی سے اس ملک کے خلاف ھمیشہ سے سازشیں بنتی گیی اور انکو عملی جامہ بھی پہنایا گیا مگر آج تک کسی نے انکو جاننے کی اور اصل مجرموں کو بے نقاب کرنے کی جسارت نہیں کی۔ 1971 کے سقوط ڈھاکہ، بھٹوّ خاندان کا قتل، تہرا نظام تعلیم یعنی اردو، انگلش اور مدرسہ سسٹم، نواب اکبر بگٹی کا پراسرار قتل اور ھزارہ قوم کی قتل عام کچھ ایسے بڑے مسلے ھیں کہ جنکی کبھی مکمل تحقیقات نہیں ھوی تاکہ اصل مجرموں تک پہنچا جا سکیں۔

ایک ایسا مخصوص طبقہ جنکی وفاداریاں انتہاپسندوں کے ساتھ ھیں، ھمیشہ سے فیصلہ سازی اور شراکت اقتدار میں مرکزی کردار رکھتے ھیں جو اصل ملکی پالیسی سے روگردانی کرتے ھیں۔ ان میں سے بہت سے خفیہ ایجنسیوں کے پے رول پر ھوتے ھیں جو خارجی طاقتوں کے کام سرانجام دیتے نظر آتے ھیں اور اس فہرست کی تیاری میں بہت احتیاط سے کام لیا گیا ہے تاکہ ایسے لوگوں کو شامل کیا جا سکیں جونسل اور عقیدہ کی بنیاد پر نفرت پھیلاتے ھیں۔ ان خودغرض اور نفرت انگیزعناصر نے پورے پاکستانی معاشرے کو یرغمال بنارکھا ھیں جو اپنے بیرونی آقاوں کی ایما پر کام کرتے نظر آتے ھیں۔

اس مضمون کے عنوان کے تسلّسل میں، مجھے بھی ایک ایسا کالم پڑھنے کا اتفاق ھوا جو پاکستان کے سابق سفیر اور فارن سیکرٹری، نجم الدّین اے شیخ نے لکھا ہے جسمیں اسنے تاریخی حقایق کو توڈ مروڈ کر پیش کرنے کی کوشش کی ہے۔ اسکا حالیہ مضمون “پاکستان افغانستان میں کیا چاہتا ہے؟”  27 دسمبر 2011 کو پاکستان کے ایک روزنامہ، دی ٹریبون میں شایع ھوا تھا جسمیں موصوف نے افغانستان کے معاشرتی ساخت اور لسانی چپقلشیوں سے متعلقّ حالات کا جانبداری سے ذکر کیا ہے۔

مجھے یہ سوچ کر کافی حیرانی ھوتی ہے کہ کیوںکر کوي شخص غیر مصدّقہ اور نفرت انگیز چیز اپنی تحریر میں لاتا ہے جو صرف اور صرف اسی کو نقصان پہنچاتی ھے۔ اسکے علاوہ، انہوں ںے اپنی دانشورانہ اور مدبرانہ حیثّت کوپامال کرتے ھوۓ، دانستہ طور پر اپنے قاریین کو دھوکہ دینے کی کوشش کی ہے۔ تاھم ملک کے اشرافیہ طبقہ کی ایک بڑی تعداد خفیہ ایجنسیوں کے باقاعدہ تنخواہ دار ھوتے ھیں یا انکے ساتھ نزدیکی رابطوں کے باعث روز مرّہ کے امورباھمی اشتراک سے انجام دیتے نظر آتے ھیں جنکی جھلک مختلف رسایل، روزناموں، جریدوں اور بین القوامی اخباروں میں شایع ھوے انکے مضامین ھوتے ھیں جنکی وجہ سے بہت سے قاریین ان کالم نگاروں، لکھاریوں اور مصّنفین کی بلند پایہ سیاسی، سماجی اور اخلاقی قدوقامت سے دھوکہ کھا جاتے ھیں۔

اس ضمن میں موصوف نجم الدّین اے شیخ نے افغان معاشرے سے متعلقّ تاریخی حقایق کو غلط پیش کرنے میں کوي کسر نہیں چھوڈی۔ مثال کے طور پر، اپنے مضمون کے دوسرے پیراۓ میں لکھتے ھیں کہ ” 1992 میں ھم نے کوشش کی کہ مجاھدین کے تمام دھڑوں کو  انتخابات سے پہلے شراکت اقتدارکے فارمولے پر متفقّ کر سکیں جو بارآور نہ ھو سکی اسکی ایک وجہ مجاھدین کے ذاتی مفادات تھےاس لیے  مکمل نسلی توازن نہیں بنایا جا سکا اور دوسری وجہ ایرانیوں کا یہ اصرار تھا کہ ٪30 نشستیں اہل تشّیع کو ملنی چاہیے جبکہ افغانستان میں ھزارہ قوم کی بڑی تعداد شیعہ ھیں، جو افغانستان کی کل آبادی کا ٪8 ہے۔ اسکے علاوہ، ھمارا حمایت یافتہ حکمتیار نے بھی رباّنی کی تاجک جماعت اسلامی میں کوي بھی مرکزی کردار عارضی طور پر بھی قبول کرنے سے انکار کیا”۔

یہاں یہ بتانا دلچسپ امر ہے کہ موصوف 1992- 1994 تک ایران میں پاکستان کے سفیر کے طور پر اپنے فرايض سرانجام دے چکے ھیں اور اوپر بتاے گیے پیراگراف میں لفظ “ھم” کا ذکرمبہم انداز میں کیا گیا ہے جو مزید وضاحت کا متقاضی ہے تاکہ اسکا اصل مفہوم  معلوم ھو سکے۔ مزید، انہوں نے کہا ہے کہ مجاھدین کے اپنے مفادات اور ایرانیوں کے ضد کی وجہ سے کوي بھی حتمی فیصلہ نہیں ھو سکا جسمیں انہوں نے ایران سے منسوب یہ بات کہی ہے کہ شراکت اقتدار سے متعلّق فارمولے کی رو سے ٪30 نشتیں شیعہ آبادی جنمیں ھزارہ قوم کی کی مغلوب تعداد ھیں کو ملنی چاہییں۔

موصوف نے بڑے ماہرانہ انداز میں اپنے قاریین کو افغانستان میں آباد ھزارہ قوم سے متعلقّ غلط تاثرّ دینے کی کوشش کی ہے لیکن ھزارہ قوم کی تاریخ کا مطالعہ کرنے سے پتہ چلتا ہے کہ ایرانی اہلکاروں نے کبھی بھی ان کی مالی یا کسی اور طریقے سے مدد نہیں کی ہیں حتی کہ شدید خطرات میں بھی جب طالبان مزارشریف، یکاولنگ اور بامیان میں انکی (ھزارہ قوم) کی نسل کشی کر رہا تھا، تب بھی ایران کوي بھی کردار ادا کرنے سے قاصر رہا تو یہ کیسے ممکن ہے کہ کبھی ایران ان کے لیۓ کوي دلیری سے بات کریں؟ بہت قوی ثبوت موجود ھیں جن سے معلوم ھوتا ہیں کہ ایران نے ھمیشہ ان قوتوں کی مدد کی ھیں جو ھزارہ قوم کے خلاف لڑتی آي ھیں انمیں تاجک پیش پیش ھیں۔ اسی طرح، ھزارہ قوم کے خلاف برسرپیکار دھڑے جیسے شیخ آصف محسنی جو نسلاّ پشتون شیعہ ملاّ اور ایران نواز ہے اور محمد اکبری جو ھمیشہ ھزارہ قوم کی نمایندہ سیاسی تنظیم، حزب وحدت اسلامی افغانستان جسکا قاید عبدل علی مزاری تھا، کے خلاف ایرانی نواز ایجنٹوں نے ھر ممکن طاقت استعمال کیں۔ انکے علاوہ، ایران نے اس زمانہ میں آٹھ ایران نواز سیاسی تحریکوں کومالی، سیاسی اور اخلاقی مدد کیں جو حزب وحدت اسلامی افغانستان کے حریف تھیں اور جنکا بنیادی کام حزب وحدت اسلامی کے خلاف جنگ کر کے اسکو کمزور کرنا تھا۔

یہاں اس امر کی وضاحت لازمی ہے کہ کویٹہ اور کراچی میں ھزارہ قوم کی تعداد بلترتیب 7 لاکھ اور 3 لاکھ ھیں آبادی کا یہ تناسب ان سب کے علاوہ ہے جو ھزارہ قوم دوسری جگہوں میں آباد ھیں۔ پاکستان میں آباد ھزارہ قوم کی شرح خواندگی اس کی آبادی کے لحاظ سے سب سے زیادہ ھے جنکے ٪ 90 لوگ پڑھے لکھے   ھیں۔  موصوف نے پاکستانی ھزارہ کی اس ملک کے لیے دی گیی بڑی قربانیوں کو مکمل نظرانداز کیا ہے جنہوں نے ھمیشہ اس کی حفاظت کے لیے اپنی جانوں کا نظرانہ پیش کیا۔ مثلاّ، جنرل محمد موسی خان (پاک آرمی کے سابقہ کمانڈرانچیف اور 1965 اور 1971 کے جنگوں کے ھیرو)، اییر مارشل (ریٹایرڈ) شربت علی چنگیزی، پاکستانی خاتون پایلٹ سایرہ بتول اور اولمپکس میں تین مرتبہ پاکستان کی نمایندگی کرنے والے باکسر ابرار حسین ھزارہ  اس قوم کے کچھ ایسے سپوت ھیں جن کی خدمات وفاق پاکستان کے لیے کسی سے ڈھکی چھپی نہیں۔ ان کے علاوہ، ھزارہ قوم کے اور بھی ھونہار اور باصلاحیتّ نوجوان ھیں جو اپنی محنت اور لگن سے پاکستان کی تعمیر و ترقی میں اھم کردار ادا کر رہے ھیں مگر کالم نگار نے ان سب خدمات کو ایک طرف رکھتے ھوے اپنے آقاوں کی آشیرباد حاصل کرنے کی کوشش کی ہے۔

اس کوشش میں، موصوف کے نسلی تعصبّ نے اسکے مدبرّانہ حصےّ کو مکمل طور پر اپنی گرفت میں لیۓ رکھا ہے تاکہ ھزارہ قوم کی آبادی کو صرف ٪8 تک ظاھر کرنے میں سعی کرے۔ مجھے مکمل یقین ہے کہ شیخ صاحب نے اپنے بال دھوپ میں سفید نہیں کیے ھونگے کہ اس قدر سچاي سے روگردانی کرے۔ میں یہ بھی مناسب سمجھتا ھوں کہ اس کی توجہّ بون معاھدہ کی طرف مبذول کراوں جسمیں ھزارہ قوم کی آبادی کو ٪19-20 بتاي گیی ہے درکنار اس کے کہ ھزارہ قوم کا اصرار ہیں کہ اس کی آبادی ٪25-30 تک ہے۔ اس جنگ زدہ اور مفلوک الحال ملک میں ثور انقلاب سے ابتک کوی مردم شماری نہیں کی گیی لحاظہ افغانستان میں آباد مختلف قومیتوں کا صحیح تناسب جاننے کےلیے کوي عالمگیرپیمانہ نہیں ہے کہ اصل تعداد کا علم ھو سکے۔ لہذا یہ باور کرنا کافی مشکل ہے کہ موصوف کالم نگار اور سابق سفیر کو افغانستان میں آباد مختلف قومیتوں کے بارے میں معلوم نہ ھوں۔

ھماری سالوں کی مسلسل غلط پالیسوں نے افغانستان کو نسلی رقابتوں، استحصال اور ظلم و زیاتیوں کی آماجگاہ بنا دیا ہے جن سے افغانیوں کی ھمدردیاں ھم سے دور ھوتی گیی اور آج وہ مسلم اّمہ، بھاي چارے کی فضا اور اسلامی عالمگیریت جیسے فلسفہ سے نفرت کرتے نظر آتے ھیں۔ پاکستانی اسٹیبلشمنٹ کے مخصوص طرز فکر نے ان میں اس حد تک لسانی منافرت، نسلی تعصبّ اور گروھی عدم تناسب  کو ھوا دی ہے کہ جس سے ایک عام پاکستانی کی عزتّ نفس اور جذبہ حب الوطنی کو بڑا نقصان پہنچا ہے۔

یہ ھمارے لیۓ انتہای ضروری ہے کہ دانشورحضرات ، لکھاری، درس وتدریس سے وابستہ افراد اور سیاستدان سب اپنی ترجیحات کوپاکستان کے قومی مفادات سے منسلک کریں تاکہ اس ملک کی اسٹریٹجک اھمیت کو ازسرنوجلا بخش سکیں۔ 

اس بلاگ کےقاریین نے اپنے برقی پیغامات میں گذارش کی ہیں کہ آیندہ کے بلاگز میں شامل آرٹیکلز اور تجزییوں کو اردو میں پیش کروں تاکہ انکو پڑھنے اورسمجھنے میں آسانی ھوگی۔ ھر چند کہ یہ ایک محنت اور وقت طلب کام ہے کیونکہ ایک مضمون کو انگریزی میں لکھکر اسکا اردو ترجمہ کرنا دشوار ہے لیکن قاریین کو سہولت اور دلجوي کے لیےاس سے عہدہ برا ھونے کو پوری کوشش کروںگا۔ مزیدبرآں ھمارے ایسے قاریین جو باقاعدگی سے اخبارات و رسایل پڑھنے کا شغف رکھتے ھیں وہ میرے مضامین کویٹہ سے شایع ھونے والے اردو اخبار  آواز      نسل نو کی ویب سایٹ پر بھی ملاحظہ کر سکتےھیں۔ 

(tnnhazara.org) 

 اس سلسلے کی پہلی کوشش کو آپ اگلے صحفے پر ملاحظہ فرماییںگے جن میں حال ھی میں لکھے گیے کالم کا اردو ترجمہ پیش کیا جا رہا ہے۔

Here’s an excerpt:

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File Picture of Afghanistan

When we look at the history of Pakistan since its birth, we understand that a particular autocratic mindset has always to tried to keep the general public at bay in terms of having the reign in their own hands. With the time passing, this cunningness of deliberation gained momentum to leave the majority of stakeholders being ruled and taken-granted at all time. Just after a year of its independence, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah – the Founder of the country – lost his life apparently due to poor health contrary to reliable notions that he was sent to Ziarat, Balochistan intentionally to speed up the deterioration of his health causing his ultimate demise. The assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan – one of the founders of Pakistan and the then Prime Minister – remains clandestinely mysterious to date, languishing in cold storage indefinitely.

The ill-plotted schemes against this country have been engineered and successfully executed but, alas, no one ever dared to dig deeper to find out the real perpetrators behind them. The debacle of Dhaka in 1971, the lineal murder of the Bhutto family, the trio system of education, ie., Urdu, English and Madrassah system, the mysterious assassination of Nawab Akber Bugti, the genocide of Hazaras in Pakistan are some of the major issues which have never been probed thoroughly to unveil the conspirators.

One particular faction which is loyal to extremist or Wahabi-form of government finds its place at the heart of decision-making and power-sharing process to divert from the principal wholesome policy. They are on the pay-roll of the Inter Services Intelligence to accomplish imported tasks and the list has been carefully drafted to include the inter-communal and faith hypocrisy and hate mongers and the ardent supporters of Wahabism. The loathsome and mean people have taken the entire Pakistani society hostage who execute their assignments on the instruction of others especially their Saudi masters.

In continuation of the caption of this article, I, similarly, came across the recent article of Najmuddin A Sheikh – former Pakistani foreign secretary and ambassador – who is otherwise a learned man, has tried to misrepresent the historical facts. His article titled, “What does Pakistan want in Afghanistan” has narrowly focused on scenarios pertaining to Afghanistan societal structure and ethnic rivalries.

I mostly wonder as to what make them write something unreliable and disgusting which cannot harm anyone except themselves. In addition, he has completely over-lapsed his intellectual and statesmanship capability to the extent that he deliberately attempted to cajole his readers. Although, a proportionate component of the elite class of the Pakistani society are the paid employees of its intelligence agency such as the ISI or they have close links with the latter to co-execute the routine functions including their writings on various journals, local dailies, international newspapers and other channels, one may misperceive the heightened political, social and moral stature of the columnists, writers and authors.

The above-mentioned columnist Najmuddin A Sheikh has left no stone unturned to dilute the historical facts of Afghan society. For instance, in paragraph second of the article, he described, “  In 1992, we tried to get the Mujahideen parties to agree to a power sharing arrangement pending elections. This effort was frustrated partly by the personal ambitions of the Mujahideen leaders and partly because the right ethnic balance could not be struck — the Iranians stressed that 30 per cent of the posts should go to the Shias even while the Hazaras, the principal Shia group in Afghanistan, represented no more than eight per cent of the population and Hikmatyar, our protégé, refused to accept even temporarily a lead role for Rabbani’s Tajik Jamaat-e-Islami.

This is particularly of interest to mention that he was serving Pakistan as ambassador to Iran between 1992-1994 whereas, the word WE has been elusively mentioned which must have been broadly elucidated to convey the explicit meaning. In the following sentence, he mentioned an ideal deal among various Afghan factions and ethnicities could be finalized as Iran wanted 30% of the posts should go to the Shi’ites especially the Hazaras who are predominantly Shias.

He has skilfully tried to fool the readers to portray a completely negative image of the ethnic Hazaras of Afghanistan but I have thorough study of the Hazaras and, at present, in the process of completing a book on them, in that the Afghan history is the witness that the Iranian authorities have never helped financially or otherwise the Hazaras of Afghanistan even in imminent dangers of ethnic cleansing by the Taliban, how on earth Iran would boldly stand for them? There are credible proofs that Iran has always supported the ethnic Tajik even in the time of war and peace in Afghanistan. Similarly, the anti-Hazara factions such as Sheikh Asif Mohsini – an ethnic Pashtun Shi’ite Cleric and pro-Iranian – and Muhammad Akbari were at the forefront to fight against the Hazaras’ mainstream political struggle of Hizb-e-Wahdat Islami which was led by Abdul Ali Mazari. Needless to say that between 1992-1995, there were eight pro-Iranian political movements excluding Hizb-e-Wahdat Islami of Mazari.

This is pertinent to mention that there are over 0.7 million ethnic Hazaras living in Quetta and with 0.3 million in Karachi let along other scattered cities of Pakistan whose real strength remain unascertained. The Hazaras of Pakistan have the highest ratio of education in overall Pakistan whose youth are educated to degree level with over 90% literacy rate. The ambassador has completely overlooked the mammoth contributions of the Hazaras who have sacrificed their lives for the sake of the country. General Muhammad Musa Khan – the then Commander-in-Chief of Pak army and the Hero of 1965 and 1971 war, Air Marshal (Retd) Sharbat Ali Changezi, the female Hazara pilot Saira Batool, Olympian boxer Ibrar Hazara are a few examples of this ethnicities contribution for the federation of Pakistan. There are other Hazara calibre who are profoundly working for the development and progress of Pakistan but the columnist has kept them aside to meet the ulterior motives of his masters.

In yet another attempt, his racial prejudice completely clasped his intellectual quotient to declare the Hazaras’ population to mere eight percent. I firmly believe that Mr. Sheikh must not have developed all the grey hair in the sunlight to blindfold from the truth to the extent that a substantial proportion be mentioned with bias. I must refer him to the Bonn Accord which endorsed the Hazaras 19-20% of the Afghan population contrary to the claims of Hazara leaders to be between 25-30% of the whole. A war-torn and poverty-stricken country has never seen census in the country since the Saur Revolution, hence, there is no universal parameters to gauge the exact number or acceptable ratio. One must find it hard enough to acknowledge the fact that the columnist and the former ambassador lacked the knowledge about one particular ethnicity.

With the years’ perpetual policy of turning Afghanistan into a hotbed of ethnic rivalries, subjugation and persecution have already alienated the sympathies of Afghan nationals who love to hate our philosophy of Pan-Islamism, the bond of Muslim Ummah and brotherly relationship. The typical Pakistani establishment mindset has injected infinite amount of communal hatred, ethnic prejudice and factional disharmony in Afghanistan to the extent that they have noticeably tarnished the self-esteem and patriotic dignity of a layman Pakistan.

This is high time that the intellectuals, esteemed academia, columnists, writers and politicians started realigning their policy in accordance with the true spirit of national interest of Pakistan in order that the country’s strategic importance be reinforced for the common good of the people.

(Source)

(Alternate Source)

Kids' Group Performance.

Children Performing at the VIP reception.

Citizens UK, an independent, non-governmental organisation is striving hard to bring different communities together and unlock their potential to make Britain more socially responsible, tolerant and just country. With its offices across the UK, over 250 civil society institutions have joined this organisation in its community and capacity building campaigns who are working together for the common good of their communities.

Among those who witnessed the first congregation of the Diaspora Peoples’ Assembly was Simon Hughes, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats who noted, “These dudes are awesome.” Mr. Hughes agreed to work with London Citizens and the leaders present to continue to make good on his party’s promise to end child detention in the UK.

When asked how he would improve relations between the MET and the incredibly diverse communities in London, Superintendent Stuart Smith, the MET’s lead on diversity, agreed to work with London Citizens to create a more productive relationship between diaspora communities and the MET Police, especially focusing on stop and search policies.

Suzanne McCarthy, the Immigration Services Commissioner, personally endorsed the New Citizens Legal Enterprise aimed at chasing out cowboy lawyers  and advisers who take advantage of migrant communities, and agreed to work with those present to build the Legal Enterprise, which will refer migrants to trusted and accountable lawyers in their communities.

When asked how he would respond to the widow of Jimmy Mubenga, a young man killed during his removal from the UK – Geoff Vinall, CEO of the UKBA’s corporate employer dealing with removals, apologized for his industry’s gross misconduct and promised to do whatever is necessary to keep this tragedy from reoccurring.

With the efforts of Liaquat Ali Hazara who is working with Citizens UK as Community Organiser, the Hazara Diaspora were invited to be part of the big community in the City Temple, Holborn Viaduct, London on 10^th December, 2011. The event was sponsored by Lycamobile and organized by Citizens UK. Seven hundred migrant community leaders came together to celebrate their diversity and power by setting goals and pressing major political and corporate figures to make change. In addition, there were 40 different communities with 40 VIPs who shared their views and civic and immigration problems their communities are facing in the UK.

Liaquat Ali Hazara, being the Community Organiser with the Citizens, UK and Asghar Ali Gulzari attended the VIP session which included informal chat and ineraction with others.

Finally, Lord Glasman, Ed Miliband’s adviser on diversity issues promised to continue working with London Citizens and its diverse migrant communities to right the wrongs experienced by diaspora communities in London and around the UK.

The children were particularly keen to take part in various exciting activities, viz., group dancing, tableaux, chorus and solo singing and multi-ethnic performances, receiving applause from the audience.

The inaugural ceremony of the Diaspora Peoples’ Assembly incorporated roll call where people of various communities holding their flags were called on the stage.

Muhammad Raza, Asghar Ali Gulzari and the Hazara Kid Holding Pak and Afghanistan's Flags.

Muhammad Raza, Asghar Ali Gulzari and the Hazara Kid Holding Pak and Afghanistan's Flags.

Similarly, Muhammad Raza, Asghar Ali Gulzari and a Hazara kid represented the Hazara Diaspora, holding high the flag of Pakistan and Afghanistan who were hugely greeted and welcomed by its member communities. In addition, the chair of the programme briefly introduced the Hazara Diaspora and mentioned of their persecution in Afghanistan and Pakistan while the audience were still applauding the participation of the Hazaras. The existing members of the Citizens UK briefly mentioned about their plights, especially immigration problems in the UK while the UKBA representatives and the Chief of Borough police described how the police are assisting organisations such as the Citizens UK in making Britain safer and more socially responsible country.

The programme concluded with the overwhelming size of enjoined flags to be displayed and moved around the hall by volunteers among huge round of applause, cheering and booing.

Community Leaders seen at the stage.

Audience in the gallery.

Hazara Diaspora

Helicopter View of the audience.

Enjoined Flags on display.

Flags on big screen.

LAH and Asghar Ali Gulzari

Group photo with Carina (The Main Organiser of the event)

Simon (A local MP)

The Audience

Report contribution: LAH, George Gabriel and Bekele Woyecha of  Citizens UK.

Lord Eric Avebury

International Imam Hussain Council organised a conference and interactive debate on the genocide of Hazaras in Al Khoei Foundation, Chevening Road, London on 12-11-2011 from 3-30 PM to 7:00 PM.

The guests included Lord Eric Avebury (well-known human rights activist), Dr. Ali Alawi, professor Harvard University (ex-minister for trade, defence and finance in Iraq’s interim government), Murtaza Poya and Yousuf Al Khoei.

The programme was divided into three parts which supplemented speeches, debate and question and answer session. The speakers were Sadiq Noyan, Rubab Mehdi Rizvi, Haji Marzooq Ali, Dr. Ali Alawi, Murtaza Poya, Liaquat Ali Hazara and Lord Avebury.

The programme started with the recitation of the Holy Quran followed by the speech of Sadiq Noyan who thanked IIHC for organising such an event to highlight the plights of Hazaras. He briefly mentioned about the History of Hazaras, focusing on the historic persecution, compelling them to migrate to the neighbouring countries. He said, “A local bus carrying Hazaras was stopped near Mastung, the ID cards were checked and the Hazaras were taken off the bus, lined up and sprayed bullet over 10 minutes until they are dead. This act killed over 29 innocent Hazaras”.

Liaquat Ali Hazara – a human rights activist – commenced his speech to give kudos to Rubab Mehdi Rizvi and her for organising the conference to voice against atrocities being perpetrated against the Hazaras in Pakistan. He said, “About 2000 years, the central Afghanistan was an independent state which was known as Ghurgistan, being inhabited by the Hazaras and then it was forcibly included in today’s Afghanistan. As the wave of extremism and terrorism has moved to the south-western city of Pakistan, I would like to draw your attention towards the religious, racial and ethnic persecution of the Hazaras which has engulfed over 700 innocent lives till this date. There are over 0.7 million Hazaras in Quetta, Pakistan with over 90% literary rate and most of them are educated to degree level. He emphatically said, “With special context to human rights, the politicians, human rights activists and other distinguished guests present here, should raise their voice against atrocities and cruelties being perpetrated against the Hazaras in the name of religion, ethnicity and faith. There is not sectarian violence in Quetta, Balochistan as one extremist group known as Lashker-e-Jhangvi has been single-handedly targeting the Hazaras with sheer impunity. The history of Pakistan is the witness that the Hazaras are the most oppressed and repressed citizens of the country whose plights mostly go unnoticed”. He also pinpointed, “The provincial government has imposed arbitrary sanctions of the Hazaras to obtain a no objection certificate (NCO) for their inter-city movements which is against the injunctions of constitution of Pakistan. We have sacrificed our lives for the country. We have indeed contributed enormously in the development and progress of the country”.

Rubab Mehdi Rizvi, the Chairperson International Imam Hussain Council, said, “The IIHC, over the last 33 years, has been promoting inter-faith dialogue, sectarian harmony and community cohesion. This conference has been arranged in response to the on-going onslaught and a recent escalation of the cowardly attack on the Hazara tribe. The Hazaras’ persecution is borne out of a largely unresolved centuries’ old religious and ethnic animosity towards them which has resulted in massacre, institutionalised discrimination and disposition of their lands which has ignited and even moved Afghanistan towards an uncertain position and with unscathed ethnic violence in the Hazara population, it is likely that the Hazaras will continue to have grounds in the UK under the 1951 refugees’ convention to persecution. She also mentioned the persecution of the Pashtun despotic and cruel leaders against the Hazaras in Afghanistan.

She then turned to Pakistan and mentioning, “The Hazaras in Balochistan, particularly Quetta, have been targeted for over a decade now. The patriotic Hazara community have contributed many of its fronts to the Pakistan army. The extremists have decided to target Hazara community as a way of retaliating against Pakistan army. Anti-state elements are doing it in the name of religion and ethnicity, trying to create an Afghan-style scenario in Pakistan. The situation has got worse since they have killed vegetable vendors, police cadets, government officials, lawyers and politicians. This includes the murder of an international renowned boxer, Ibrar Hazara who represented Pakistan in Olympics three times. However, for his killers, the only way to find and kill him was that he was the member of the Hazara Shi’ite community. Only 21 days after the brutal Mastung massacre, fresh attacks have taken place where rockets were fired at a bus carrying pilgrims including women and children. These murderous attacks have now become so frequent that they no longer qualify as the news in national or international media. The onslaught of the targeted killings continues unabated with half a dozen more from the Hazaras were injured last night.

The aim of the conference this year is to reflect on the plights of Hazara Shi’ite ad their future as a minority in the context of their rights to religious freedom, citizenship and more importantly life without fear.  She also demanded that the Government of Pakistan must extend the representation of Hazaras to the Senate and the National Assembly in the same way as the former Prime Minister Shaheed Benazir Bhutto extended it in FATA areas. We need to see more Hazaras in the top level of the society.

Far right - Dr Ali Alawi

Dr. Ali Alawi, a professor at Harvard University and minister for trade, defence and finance in 2003-2004 in Iraq said, “The history of Hazaras is not known to the world, it is known to you and us, of course because we share the common faith and we are co-religious. You are facing the crises in Pakistan, there is no doubt about it, the targeting is faced by your community in there and I really urge to put your strength together, to see what resources you have got to be used so that you voice must be heard at international arena, your voice must reach international institutions, the UN, international human rights groups including Amnesty International and all other NGOs concerned. You are the citizens of Pakistan and it should provide your protection. You have to mobilize yourselves with the pen, in strength in parliament”.

Lord Eric Avebury, a veteran political and human rights activist briefly mentioned the history of persecution of tyrant and autocrat Pashtun leaders towards Hazaras in Afghanistan. He said, “The Hazaras in Afghanistan have faced abject persecution by a handful of Pashtun there since the 1800s and in 1850s Amir Abdul Rehman Khan attached the independent state of Hazarajat to bring it under his control and used the Sunni Muslims to subjugate the Hazaras, control their territory and confiscate their agricultural lands and hand them over to the Pashtun nomads for grazing. It is estimated that over 60% of the Hazara population was massacred by this campaign of Abdur Rehman and some 75,000 people were compelled to leave to Mashad, Iran, Pakistan and in parts of Central Asia but sadly they didn’t escape from persecution in their new homes and today we are witnessing the different ways of killings as mentioned this afternoon. You also remember that the Taliban murdered several thousand Hazaras in Mazar-e-Sharif in 1998 and Mullah Niazi was the main criminal responsible for that crime against humanity who became the governor of the region when it was controlled by the Taliban, announced the Hazaras as infidels and declared to kill them because of the religious belief they hold.  Thousands fled to Iran, Pakistan, North America, Northern and western Europe including the UK and Australia who form the third largest population after Pakistani and Indian community there. The situation in Pakistan is getting worse which is becoming a failed state where the rights of the minority are being exploited and hundreds of people are killed. In the last three months, there have been three separate incidents of mass murder of Hazaras in Quetta. The anti-Shia Jundullah group is having hands in killings in Balochistan despite its focus on Iran.

Lord Avebury also assured that he will make a report very soon and send it to the European Union through the Foreign and commonwealth office to exert meaningful pressure on the government of Pakistan to stop the massacre of Hazaras.

Later, the session commenced an interactive debate including the members of media, civil society and Hazara representatives, followed by questions and answer session.

International Imam Hussain Council\’s Conference on massacre of Hazaras

File Photo

International Imam Hussain Council – a not-for-profit organisation – working to improve inter-communal relationships among all the ethnic communities across the UK; has organised a conference in London to raise voice against the systematic genocide of the Hazaras in Pakistan. The details of the programme are as follows:

A large number of participants are attending the conference who will include the members of the House of Commons, House of Lord, human rights organisations, prominent figures from academia, civil society etc. So far Lord Avebury, Lord Dubb, Amnesty International, representatives of Foreign and Commonwealth Office, its Aid Department for South Asia and the renown intellectual, writer and Professor at Harvard University and the former Minister of Trade and Minister of Finance in Iraq have confirmed to attend the event.

The main purpose of the conference is magnifying the genocide of the Hazaras in Pakistan through the lens of human rights whereas the speakers shall voice the fundamental rights of the Hazaras. Members of electronic and print media such as the Independent, the Telegraph, Geo network, Ary News Channel, BBC Four, Press TV, Ahlulbayt TV, Voice of America and other distinguished news agencies have consented to give full coverage to the event.

All the Hazaras, their sympathisers, human rights activists and members of civil society are earnestly requested to attend the programme to show their full commitment and solidarity with the under-represented and oppressed people of Hazara.

If you, however, wish to find out more about the programme, please contact the organisers at imamhussaincouncil@gmail.com

(Burial of the Martyrs at Hazara Graveyard, Alamdar Road Quetta.

Photo Courtesy: Mechid TV and Hazaranation.com)

In today’s suicide bombing in Quetta – killing 11 innocent Hazaras and injuring 22 others – 5 bodies were laid to rest at Hazara Graveyard, Alamdar Road, Quetta.

Earlier this morning, a suicide bomber attempted to enter Alamdar Road, Quetta to target the Hazara Eidgaah to afflict maximum causalities to the people, gathering for Eid Prayers but due to tight security, he could not succeed to enter the route, instead he aimed for an adjacent place to and blew himself up near Sardar Mehdi Hasan Musa Girl College, killing 11 people, including 2 women, a minor girl and injuring 22 others.

The President, Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Provincial Chief Minister have condemned the incident, which usually remains to shallow condemnation from government functionaries and politicians.

The Balochistan Police Chief’s incompetence and inefficiency echoes from various media channels that the police cannot stop these attacks overnight and the people should cooperate with the police.

There are over three thousand troops in Quetta city, which comprise of the security personnel of frontier corps and the police. They have set up check posts at different sensitive locations of the city, however, the previous incident of target-killings have occurred at a distance of hundred yards from these check posts.

Syed Muhammad Qaseem is an alumnus of the Government Science College, Quetta; who said, “He feels really depressed on the target killings of the Hazaras.” “The government is not doing anything to stop it or to start a crack-down against the religious extremists who are trying to sow hatred among brotherly ethnicities of Quetta”, he said.

The Quetta populace, in general, agree that the present federal and provincial governments have taken no steps to curb the menace of sectarianism or to take legal action against imported religious clerics who deliver provocative speeches in mosques in the province to fan religious hatred and sectarian fanaticism.

Bomb disposal squad has estimated that 40 KG explosive was used, however, the local claimed it to 400 KG.

An eyewitness stated that the suicide bomber’s target was Hazara Eidgaah Alamdar Road where the Eid prayers is organised and attended by thousands of people. “He attempted many times but could not enter the Eidgaah Route due to tight scrutiny, then, he aimed for the adjacent road, known as Major Mohammad Ali Shaheed road and blew himself up near Sardar Mehdi Hasan Musa Girl College”, said Muhammad Hussain.

Muhammad Ali, an eyewitness, expressed his emotions grievously that the government is not taking any serious measures to protect the lives of common people, especially that of the Hazaras who have been the main target of the extremist elements since 1999.

“We have lost over 650 innocent people in an unknown battle so far and the number is increasing. We are really desperate to ask government for our safety as there are elements within the government who are supporting these terrorists”, said another eyewitness.

Chiragh Ali Baig, an eyewitness has reported that the blast was so powerful that left 15 cars completely destroyed, shattering windows of the shops and houses and collapsing the roof of a nearby house.

Hazara Democratic Party, Balochistan Shia Conference, Majlis Wahdat ul Muslimeen, Pashtoonkhawah Milli Awami Party and Jamiat Ullama e Islam have strongly condemned this terrorist attack whereas Majlis Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen and Jafaria Alliance announced a 10-day mourning.

Muhammad Raheem said, “The role of Pakistani Media has been limited in covering these incidents. A red banner is run on TV for a couple of minutes or a three minute news reported runs on TV screen and, then, it all stops until next incident”.

The federal and provincial government have always been condemning these incidents, however, no practical measures have been taken to ensure the life and safety of people. The Provincial Chief Minister – Aslam Raisani’s non-serious attitude towards law and order situation in the Quetta city have many a time hit the headlines. His playful attitude to these questions reflects his credibility to run the government.