The Impact of Ethnic Groups in Afghanistan

The questioner : As you mentioned, we observe the composition of the Afghan people: the Pashtuns and then the Tajiks are the two largest ethnic groups. Then, from among these ethnic groups, there are the Hazaras. The Hazaras are the Shi'ites. As it is said, "Hazar" means "thousand" in Persian, so they are the people who have a thousand origins. These people came from Mongol lineages, and therefore they have the Mongol appearance: the flat nose and the narrow forehead. They reside in the center of Afghanistan, in three or four provinces, at the point where the borders of these four provinces meet. Since the beginning of the jihad, some of them participated in the fighting, but the majority, or the vast majority, did not participate. Instead, they entered into a truce with the state, agreeing that they would maintain their security and the state would not aggress against them. This was a strategy of the state that succeeded greatly. The important point is that these Hazaras are divided into... It is, God is Glorified, the ailment present there that has perhaps encompassed both the people of the Sunnah and the Shi'ites: the ailment of division. And for those among the Shi'ites, may Allah protect us, it is more severe and more painful. So much so that even among the seven Shi'ite organizations, there is severe fighting and very severe battles, in addition to what exists between them and the people of the Sunnah. These Shi'ites, throughout the periods of the previous regime inside Afghanistan, were among the oppressed, to whom it was not even permitted, in some periods of the rule, to enter the cities. They were not allowed in specific areas. Consequently, a complex of hatred toward the people of the Sunnah became rooted in them. They found that this is now a favorable opportunity for them, so they contacted the communist state. The Prime Minister, in many periods, was one of them, Sultan Ali Khashmnamat, who was the Prime Minister. Many of the army leaders and generals were among them, and many of the provincial governors were from these Hazaras. The state relied on them as a minority with whom it could reach an understanding. These Hazaras are in direct contact with Iran, and there is a route from the center of Afghanistan leading to the sending of caravans and their arrival in this region from Iran.