The issue at hand

NA commander Haji Mohamed Mohaqiq talks to Al-Ahram Weekly on the Hazara minority, allegations of human rights infractions and Afghanistan's future leadership
Among the material sent to Al-Ahram Weekly by the remarkably efficient international relations team at the Hizb-i Wahdat Islami-yi Afghanistan (Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan) party, a Northern Alliance (NA) faction representing the ethnic Hazara and now establishing a strong presence in western Afghanistan, are translations of two fatwas, or religious decrees, issued against the Shi'a Hazara minority.
The first, issued in 1892 by the Emir Abdurrahman Khan, is a detailed set of instructions to Afghan mullahs to drill home the message to all Afghans that Shi'a Muslims will not be tolerated. "With a view to bringing this stray flock to the true faith, I have ordered that [Shi'a] should be preached to and exhorted to give up their false religion. If they do not listen to the advice and preaching of the Sunnis, it will be absolutely necessary that they are put to death."
The second fatwa, issued in 1998 by the Taliban Mullah Manon Niazi in Mazhar-i Sharif, blames all Hazara for the brutal deaths of Taliban soldiers the year before, when a failed attempt to capture the key northern city ended in the massacre of some 2,000 Taliban soldiers. "Hazaras! Where will you escape? If you jump in the air, we will still grasp your legs; if you sink into the earth, we will catch hold of your ears." The decree reads on: "Hazaras are not Muslim. You can kill them and it is not a sin."
The US military campaign in Afghanistan threw formerly flaccid NA forces a lifeline, but fears that a post- Taliban government will not adequately address ethnic and religious divisions are a potent worry for Hazara. In an e- mail interview with Hizb-i Wahdat commander Haji Mohamed Mohaqiq before the takeover of Kabul, Mohaqiq told the Weekly that ethnic Hazara have faced atrocities throughout history. "Our people didn't commit any crime except being ethnic Hazara and following the Shi'a sect. In the 21st century, is this really a crime?" Noting that Hazara are the most repressed minority, Mohaqiq added: "All of them want to kill us first, because they think that by killing us they will go to heaven."
Mohaqiq said that the goals of Hizb-i Wahdat were simple: "[We are] really and seriously in favour of a peaceful settlement of the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan as soon as possible, because we [Hazara] are the people who have really faced all the tragedies of war." Citing age-old ethnic feuds and misrepresentation as the "root cause" of all crises inside Afghanistan, Mohaqiq maintains that there will never be a successful government in Kabul until there is an adequate system that deals with all ethnic minorities equally. Only then, he says, will minorities begin to think of Afghanistan as their "common home, not a prison."
But Mohaqiq made it clear that the issue at hand was still to drive out the Taliban. "Nobody can live with the Taliban under the same roof. [It is impossible] to find a common language with them, so our priority is to completely defeat the Taliban by any means."
Former Afghan King Mohamed Zahir Shah has long called for an emergency loya jirga (grand council) to elect a temporary leadership. Mohaqiq says he has no problem with this system, provided that all ethnic minorities are represented and the real population of each are taken into consideration. Asked if he thought Hazara were under-represented, both in the Northern Alliance and in international diplomatic efforts to pull together a coalition, Mohaqiq was quick to point out that Hazara concerns are "badly neglected by all the sides."
Brutality and widespread human rights infractions during former President Burhanuddin Rabbani's brief time in power have been well documented. Mohaqiq is adamant, however, that reprisal killings of ethnic Pashtun, who form the base of Taliban support in the south, will not come to pass. "There is no need to worry about the post-Taliban period. Pashtuns are our brothers and we have to live with them in a single country. They are safe and there is no threat to their safety in the north, or any other part of the country."
But Mohaqiq admitted this safety would mean some elements in the NA need to be reined in. "Without a doubt, if the NA fails to control some commanders who have no agenda but the looting of innocent people, there will be nothing to gain," he said. The brutal killings and mutilation of non-Afghan fighters, particularly Pakistanis, Arabs and Chechans fighting for the Taliban, have alarmed peacemakers and human rights activists in the last week.
Human rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have long been active in following the cycle of violence in Afghanistan. In a 6 October report, Human Rights Watch singled out commanders accused of human rights violations, including Tajik leader Abdurrashid Dostum and radical Islamist leader Abdul- Rasul Sayyaf. The report documents the violent targeting of ethnic Hazara, but also includes Mohaqiq in its list. The Iranian-backed Hizb-i Wahdat is singled out by the report in connection with an operation in Balkh in 1998.
Mohaqiq was already aware of the HRW report and told the Weekly that Hizb-i Wahdat has invited the UN and human rights organisations to carry out an impartial inquiry and investigation. "We will cooperate with them with all resources at hand," Mohaqiq said. "But in the event that their allegations against us are proved wrong, then we will expect an official apology."
In a letter to Sydney Jones, executive director of HRW's Asia Division, responding to the charges against Mohaqiq, Hizb-i Wahdat welcomed HRW's efforts in the region but rejected claims of human rights infractions. HRW was asked to forward the evidence against Mohaqiq. "We are ready to cooperate with your noble cause at any level, provided you should also give us a chance to clarify our position," the letter reads.
Known for his fierce anti-Taliban stance, Mohaqiq is clearly restless to see the end of the Taliban regime. He blames decades of war in Afghanistan for rendering the country one of the "most backward in the world," but notes that the ordinary people of Afghanistan are not backward; they are simply trying to live through a terrible, seemingly endless period.
Mohaqiq denounced foreign radicals from the Arab world and other flashpoints, like Chechnya, for coming to Afghanistan to empower the Taliban regime.
"We are telling these people who are so fond of jihad [that they] should select some other area for their jihad. Leave the Afghans alone. They can solve their problems by themselves; we don't need the presence of any radical on our soil. Afghanistan is for Afghans and they should immediately vacate Afghanistan and leave us to live peacefully," Mohaqiq said.
Interview by Nyier Abdou
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