On Tuesday, two consecutive explosions occurred in the Hazara-dominated areas of Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province. Both blasts targeted public transportation, killing 11 and injuring at least 18. On the same day that the city of Mazar-e-Sharif witnessed two explosions, Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s acting interior minister, who calls himself the “caliph”, announced at a commemoration ceremony on May 28 that Afghanistan is now relieved from insecurity and anxiety.
Targeted attacks on Hazaras have intensified recently. Unlike previous attacks, this time the blasts in Mazar-e-Sharif have triggered fewer outcries among the people. Mohammad Mohaqiq, leader of the peoples’ Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan, says the Taliban are responsible for ensuring security throughout the country and must be held accountable for these “crimes against humanity and genocide.”
Independent sources and Taliban officials declared the blasts in Mazar-e-Sharif on Thursday evening as a result of explosives placed in vehicles in the Hazara neighborhoods of Mazar-e-Sharif. The first blast occurred in a minivan near the Imam Ali Shrine at a city car station. The second blast took place in the Sajjadia area, the 10th district of Mazar-e-Sharif, targeted another minivan. Mohammad Mohaqiq, quoted the local and health sources confirmed 11 causalities and 18 others injured in the blasts. The chances of causalities’ statistic to increase are very high due to lack of medical supports and facilities.
The leader of the Peoples’ Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan says the tragedy has been inflicted on “defenseless and fasting Hazaras” by “global terrorism”. Mohammad Mohaqiq added that the Taliban claim that the security of the country is fully ensured. He askes, “Who’s responsible for the obvious ‘crimes and genocide’ on the basis of ‘ethnicity and religion’?” He further stressed that the Taliban government must be held responsible and accountable for these catastrophic incidents or, if they are not supporting/involved in this terrorist acts, arm the people themselves and leave the security of the neighborhood to the people.
No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the Mazar-e-Sharif bombings yet. Similar bombings took place in Kabul before the fall of Ashraf Ghani’s government, which was claimed by the ISKP, but security officials in the former government used to accus the Taliban of carrying out such attacks.
The Taliban seniors have been denying the threat posed to the country by the ISKP. According to national television controlled by the Taliban, Sirajuddin Haqqani said on May 28, Afghanistan has been able to breathe a sigh of relief after a long time. Despite, the deadly explosions that have taken place in the country over the past two weeks, Haqqani, whom the Taliban call the “caliph,” claims that Afghanistan has been secured after 43 years.
The Taliban’s Interior Ministry also announced a few days ago that the ISKP is completely suppressed in Afghanistan and reiterated that the group does not pose a serious threat to the country. The Taliban have said they will thwart ISKP’s efforts and destroy its last hideouts.
There have been several deadly attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the country, especially against Hazaras and Shiites. Two days ago, unknown gunmen shot five coal-miners from Hazara community in Samangan. These people were shot on the Balkh-Samangan highway. One week ago, an explosion at the Seh Dokan mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif killed 61 people and injured 60 others. The ISKP claimed responsibility for the attack. Explosions hit Kabul, Kunduz and Nangarhar on the same day. A day after the incident, an explosion occurred at a mosque in the Imam Sahib district of Kunduz. The Taliban claimed 33 dead and 43 wounded in the blast. Some local sources reported the death toll up to 61. Last Tuesday, a series of explosions took place at the Abdul Rahim Shahid School in western Kabul, but no reliable casualty figures have been released yet due to censorship and restriction imposed by the Taliban at the blast sides. Various sources have published different reports about the casualties of this incident. The Taliban have confirmed fewer figures. Mohammad Mohaqiq, the leader of the People’s Unity Party of Afghanistan, said that 126 people, including 34 girls, are killed and 73 others are injured in the attack on Abdul Rahim Shahid School.
The deadliest blast since the Taliban took control of the country was a suicide attack at Kabul airport where 170 Afghan civilians and 13 American soldiers were killed. The bombing took place on August 26, 2021, and the ISKP claimed responsibility. Hazaras and Shiites have also been targeted in Kunduz, Kandahar, Kabul, Balkh, Herat and Samangan provinces since the Taliban took control. The ISKP has claimed responsibility for some of these attacks.
The bombings and repeated attacks on civilians have made the people criticize the Taliban to be accountable for ensuring national security in the country. Critics accuse the Taliban of failing to provide security.
The ethnic was always on the front line in supporting, girls’ education, democracy and human rights for the last two decades. Simultaneously, they have been the primary targets of political game played in the region and have been paying the price by their blood.
With the emergence of Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, the former Afghan president in 2014, the environment for all other ethnicities, particularly Hazaras changed. Since 2014, 40 brutal cases of attacks have been recorded on the Hazara community across the country.
[highlight color=”gray”]Hasht-e Subh Persian[/highlight]
