Martyr of the National Unity of Afghanistan Ustad Abdul Ali Mazari عبدالعلی مزاری | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader ofHezbe Wahdat | |
| In office 1989 – 13 March 1995 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 May 1946 Charkent,Balkh province,Afghanistan |
| Died | 13 March 1995(1995-03-13) (aged 48) Ghazni,Afghanistan |
| Political party | Hezbe Wahdat |
| Occupation | Politician and rebel leader |
| Awards | Mim Hea Mim peace award |
| Nickname | Baba Mazari (بابه مزاری) |
Ustad Abdul Ali Mazari (Dari:استاد عبدالعلی مزاری; 26 May 1946 – 13 March 1995) was an AfghanHazara politician and leader of theHezbe Wahdat during and following theSoviet–Afghan War, who advocated for afederal system of governance in Afghanistan.[1][2][3] Mazari envisioned that this would end the political and ethnic division in Afghanistan by guaranteeing rights to every ethnic group.[4] He was allegedly captured and assassinated by theTaliban during negotiations in 1995 amid theSecond Afghan Civil War.
In 2016, he was posthumously given the title "Martyr for National Unity of Afghanistan" and had a statue erected in his honor by theIslamic Republic of Afghanistan.[5][6] Shortly after reclaiming power, the Taliban demolished the statue.[7]
He was commonly known asBaba Mazari for his leadership of Hezbe Wahdat within the Hazara community.
Abdul Ali Mazari, son of Haji Khudaidad, was born in 1946 in theCharkent district ofBalkh province, south of the northern city ofMazar-e-Sharif. He began his primary schooling in theology at the local school in his hometown, then went to Mazar-e-Sharif and later toQom,Iran andNajaf,Iraq.[8]
After theSaur Revolution on 27 April 1978, Mazari fled toNajaf, later toSyria, and then toPakistan temporarily.[9] During theSoviet–Afghan War, Mazari returned to Afghanistan and gained a prominent place in themujahideen resistance movement. During the first years of the resistance, he lost his young brother, Muhammed Sultan, during a battle against theAfghan Army. He soon lost his sister and other members of his family in the resistance. His uncle, Muhammad Jafar, and his son, Muhammad Afzal, were imprisoned and executed by the Soviet-backedDemocratic Republic of Afghanistan. His father, Haji Khudaidad, and his brother, Haji Muhammad Nabi, were killed as well in the war.[4]
Abdul Ali Mazari was one of the founding members and the first leader of the Hezb-e Wahdat. In the first party congress inBamyan, he was elected leader of the Central Committee and in the second congress, he was elected Secretary General. Mazari's initiative led to the creation of the "Jonbesh-e Shomal" (Northern Movement), in which the country's most significant military forces joined ranks with the rebels, leading to a coup d'état and the eventual downfall of the Communist regime in Kabul.[4]
After the 1992fall of Kabul, the Afghan political parties agreed on a peace and power-sharing agreement, thePeshawar Accords, which created theIslamic State of Afghanistan and appointed an interim government for a transitional period to be followed by general elections. According toHuman Rights Watch:[10]
The sovereignty of Afghanistan was vested formally in theIslamic State of Afghanistan, an entity created in April 1992, after the fall of theSoviet-backed Najibullah government. ... With the exception ofPashtun warlordGulbuddin Hekmatyar'sHezb-e Islami, all of the parties... were ostensibly unified under this government in April 1992. ... Hekmatyar's Hezbe Islami, for its part, refused to recognize the government for most of the period discussed in this report and launched attacks against government forces but the shells and rockets fell everywhere inKabul resulting in many civilian casualties.
Although Hezb-e Wahdat initially participated in the Islamic State and held some posts in the government, conflict soon broke out between the Hazara Hezb-e Wahdat of Mazari and the PashtunIttihad-e Islami ofAbdur Rasul Sayyaf.[10][11] The Islamic State's defense ministerAhmad Shah Massoud tried to mediate between the factions with some success, but the cease-fire remained only temporary. In June 1992, the Hezb-e Wahdat and the Ittihad-i Islami engaged in violent street battles against each other. With the support ofSaudi Arabia,[12] Sayyaf's forces repeatedly attacked the western suburbs of Kabul resulting in heavy civilian casualties. Likewise, Mazari's Iran-supported forces that were also accused of attacking civilian targets in the west. Mazari acknowledged taking Pashtun civilians as prisoners, but defended the action by saying that Sayyaf's forces took Hazaras first, adding that the prisoners taken by his forces were housed, fed, given water, and not tortured. While there is disagreement as to who started the conflict, it is well-documented that there were heavy civilian casualties and human rights abuses on all sides. In January 1993, faced with an offensive byJamiat forces against both parties, Mazari's group and Hekmatyar's group began cooperating with one another.[10]
In September 1994, following accusations against Abdul Ali Mazari of committing a coup within the party's leadership, seniorHezb-e Wahdat memberMuhammad Akbari separated from Mazari to form theNational Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan, which aligned itself with the Taliban and gained the support of the majority of party members in theHazara hinterland and some surrounding regions, particularly inPanjab district,Waras district,Uruzgan province,Helmand province, andSar-e pol province. Although Mazari's influence was heavily reduced by the split, he was able to retain the allegiance of the majority of Hezb-e Wahdat members inwestern Kabul,Yakawlang district,Wardak province, andMazar-i-Sharif city.[13][14]
According toHazara Press, on 12 March 1995, the Taliban requested a meeting with Mazari and a delegation from the Islamic Wahdat Central Party Abuzar Ghaznawi, Ekhlaasi, Eid Mohammad Ibrahimi Behsudi, Ghassemi, Jan Mohammad, Sayed Ali Alavi, Bahodari, and Jan Ali inChahar Asiab, near the city of Kabul. On their arrival, the group was abducted and tortured. A Western journalist reported seeing Mazari in the Taliban captivity with his hands and feet bound.[15] The following day Mazari was killed and his body was found inGhazni. The Taliban issued a statement that Mazari had attacked the Taliban guards while being flown toKandahar. Later, his body and those of his companions were handed over to Hezb-e Wahdat, mutilated and showing signs of torture.[16]
According to the Taliban'sAl Somood magazine, claims of him being killed deliberately are false, and he died in an accident involving a helicopter crash near Ghazni.[17] Taliban-affiliated researcherMustafa Hamid described the Taliban's version of events surrounding the death of Abdul Ali Mazari in detail, stating that it began with Mazari and a group accompanying him being detained by the Taliban during a routine inspection of taxis passing through a village on the outskirts of Kabul. At the request of Taliban officials, he was thereafter placed on a helicopter leaving Kabul. Having become suspicious of the Taliban's intentions, Mazari and his partners snatched the weapon of one of the Taliban guards whilst mid-flight, killing another one of the guards and injuring the pilot. This caused the Helicopter to violently crash over the province of Ghazni, killing everyone on board. The crash of the aircraft attracted the attention of a nearby Taliban patrol, who found Mazari's deceased body onboard.[18] However, locals denied seeing any evidence of a helicopter crash, and the Taliban did not publicly disclose the exact location of the crash.[15]
Mazari's body, after being handed over by the Taliban, was carried by his followers on foot from Ghazni across Hazarajat toMazar-e-Sharif (at the time under the control of his allyAbdur Rashid Dustom) in heavy snow over forty days.[1] Hundreds of thousands attended his funeral in Mazar-e-Sharif.[19] Mazari was officially named "Martyr for National Unity of Afghanistan" in 2016 by the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and a statue of him was erected in Bamiyan, a Hazara cultural hub.[6][5] Shortly after retaking power, the Taliban demolished the statue and renamed Bamiyah square, which had been named in his honor. This prompted outcry from the Hazara population, who see Mazari as a beloved figure.[6]
The largest of the Shia parties, Hezb-e Wahdat-e Islami, had already split into two during the Taleban era, when Ustad Muhammad Akbari struck an agreement with them and maintained control – under some Kandahari supervision - over parts of the Hazarajat, while Khalili's wing remained with the NA.
حكام كابل ورجالها الأقوياء تمكنوا من خداع حركة طالبان عندما لمسوا فيهم المثالية المفرطة لطاب المدارس صغار وحزب وحدت، وتسببت بشكل غير مباشر في مقتل الزعيم الشيعي عبد العلي مزاري في حادث تحطم طائرة هليكوبتر بالقرب من مدينة غزني غربي كابل.
وعلى الجانب الآخر هناك قصة مقتل القائد الشيعى الكبير عبد العلى مزارى، الذى قتل فى حادث دل على سؤ الفهم والشك المتبادل ولم يكن بالقطع لا إنتقاميا ولا طائفيا ... من أكبر الأحداث المؤسفة التى أعقبت مجزرة "كارت سيه" كانت إلقاء طالبان القبض على الزعيم الشيعى عبد العلى مزارى ومجموعة كانت معه أثناء عملية تفتيش روتينية على سيارات الأجرة فى أطراف كابل ... فتم ترحيله على طائرة مروحية إلى كابل بناء على طلب الإمارة هناك. الرجل هو ومجموعته توجسوا شرا فحاولوا السيطرة على الطائرة وهى فى الجو فوق ولاية غزنى وتمكنوا من إنتزاع سلاح أحد الحراس وقتل أخر وإصابة الطيار. فهبطت الطائرة هبوطا عنيفا على الأرض جذب أنظار داورية من طالبان كانت فى المنطقة فتوجهوا صوب الطائرة لإستطلاع الأمر، فبادرتهم المجموعة بإطلاق النار ودارت معركة نتج عنها مقتل القائد مزارى، ولتبدأ بعد ذلك مرحلة شكوك وكراهية لا نهاية لها بين الشيعة وحركة طالبان. ثم خرجت الكثير من القصص الكاذبة حول كيفية مقتل الزعيم الشيعى البارز، وكان هدفها تأجيج الفتنة وإيغار الصدور والدفع نحو المزيد من سفك الدماء تسهيلا لمهمة قوى خارجية تريد السيطرة على أفغانستان ونزح ثرواتها.
[1] - Photos and Videos of Shahid Abdul Ali Mazari at www.mazari.ca
Tabaro-Baghe-Gole-Sorkh – Poetry about Abdul Ali Mazari at BabaMazary.blogfa.com
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