Ramsco's Women Empowerment Initiative Recognized Among Top BRICS Businesswomen Practices for 2025    Egypt, Elsewedy review progress on Ain Sokhna phosphate complex    Gold prices end July with modest gains    Pakistan says successfully concluded 'landmark trade deal' with US    Egypt's FM, US envoy discuss Gaza ceasefire, Iran nuclear talks    Modon Holding posts AED 2.1bn net profit in H1 2025    Egypt's Electricity Ministry says new power cable for Giza area operational    Egypt's Al-Sisi, Italian defence minister discuss Gaza, security cooperation    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, Nile dam with US senators    Aid airdrops intensify as famine deepens in Gaza amid mounting international criticism    Health minister showcases AI's impact on healthcare at Huawei Cloud Summit    On anti-trafficking day, Egypt's PM calls fight a 'moral and humanitarian duty'    Federal Reserve maintains interest rates    Egypt strengthens healthcare partnerships to enhance maternity, multiple sclerosis, and stroke care    Egypt keeps Gaza aid flowing, total tops 533,000 tons: minister    Indian Embassy to launch cultural festival in Assiut, film fest in Cairo    Egyptian aid convoy heads toward Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens    Culture minister launches national plan to revive film industry, modernise cinematic assets    Rafah Crossing 'never been closed for one day' from Egypt: PM    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Egypt, Oman discuss environmental cooperation    Egypt's EDA explores pharma cooperation with Belarus    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Afghanistan's Hazaras: Targeted by militants, neglected by government
Published in Daily News Egypt on 23 - 07 - 2016

At least 80 people have been killed in an attack on the Shiite Hazara community in Kabul. "Islamic State" claimed responsibility for the bombings. Experts say that highlights IS's increasing presence in Afghanistan.
Two blasts hit a large demonstration by members of the Hazara minority in Afghanistan's capital on Saturday, killing at least 80 people and wounding hundreds of others, according to the Health Ministry. The death toll is likely to rise.
In a statement released after the attack, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack, calling it an act of terror.
The militant group "Islamic State" (IS) claimed responsibility for the suicide attacks, explicitly mentioning the Shiite Hazara community as the target in a statement.
"Two fighters from Islamic State detonated explosive belts at a gathering of Shiites in the city of Kabul in Afghanistan," said a brief statement on the group's Amaq news agency.
IS, a predominantly Sunni militant group, is opposed to Shiites and, like the Taliban, does not recognize them as Muslims.
The Taliban, a fierce enemy of IS, quickly issued a statement Saturday denying any involvement in the Kabul attack. "We would never take part in any incident that divides the Afghan people," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.
Hazaras' demands
The Persian-speaking Hazara people, estimated to make up about 9 percent of Afghanistan's population, are the country's third-largest minority and have been repressed throughout the country's history.
Tens of thousands of Hazaras took to the streets of Kabul on Saturday to protest the government's reroute of the TUTAP transnational electricity project.
The TUTAP project is designed to deliver electricity from Turkmenistan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan (the acronym comes from the names of the countries involved), making power available to millions of Afghans by connecting pre-existing infrastructure. The German technical advising firm Fichtner originally recommended that the power route run through the Hazara-dominated Bamyan province, near planned Chinese and Indian natural resource projects and a power station that could be connected to the line.
According to Daud Noorzai, deputy chief of staff for President Ghani, the TUTAP project wouldn't have delivered power to Bayman province anyway. Like a water pipeline, high-tension power lines don't deliver to the areas it passes through, Noorzai told DW: "Changing to the current structure to pass through Bamyan would not only create more costs, but also prolong the completion of the project by years."
In the future, the government says it wants to be more transparent about the implementation of its projects and prevent their manipulation by different sides of the political spectrum.
But the Hazaras' anger has been sparked by far more than the revised calculation, according to Alexey Yusupov, head of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in Kabul. "This has a lot to do with a sense of injustice, and of discontent with the government in general – much less than it has to do with the technical aspects of the project," he told DW.
Not giving up
In a way, TUTAP has become a specific issue for Hazaras to vent their general anger. "This has become an emotional issue, because the protesters have the feeling that the government is taking something away which they had promised," Yusupov said.
Reza, who lost two of his friends in Saturday's blasts, blamed the government for failing to protect the peaceful demonstrators.
"I don't have words to describe the situation," Reza told DW. "It is a very sad day for the people of Afghanistan."
Despite the deaths, protesters have vowed to continue their demonstrations. "Our movement will not end because of these attacks," Khatama said. "We are demanding our rights – and we will continue to do so."
"The Bamyan province urgently needs electricity," Sharifa, another Hazara protester, told DW. "I was in the province yesterday and saw some students reading under the streetlights. The government must pay attention to our needs."
IS's Afghanistan expansion
While Kabul continues to ignore the demands of the Hazara community, the Sunni militant groups have increased their attacks on them.
In November, thousands of Hazaras marched through Kabul to protest government inaction after seven members of their community were beheaded by IS militants.
"Every public gathering is a potentially dangerous endeavor in Kabul," Yusupov said. "We are not sure whether the government had any indications about an imminent attack. … But if the IS claim is true that it carried out the attack, Middle Eastern-style sectarian violence in Afghanistan is a very bad omen for the country," he added.
The latest attacks in Kabul also prove that IS is expanding in Afghanistan despite the government's claims that the group had been defeated in March after a monthslong military operation.
The volatile situation in the eastern Nangarhar province and other parts of the war-ravaged country indicates that IS is gaining ground in Afghanistan – and that the government may be underestimating the group's strength.
"IS remains the major problem for the Taliban movement," Siegfried O. Wolf, a Brussels-based South Asia researcher, told DW. "It is gaining strength and the Taliban infighting will help this process."
Worrying signs
On July 6, US President Barack Obama shelved plans to cut the US forces in Afghanistan to 5,000 by the end of 2016, opting to keep 8,400 troops there through the close of his presidency in January next year.
Experts say that an increased role for the US troops in Afghanistan not only signals Washington's willingness to support the Afghan government for a longer period of time, but also highlights growing concerns about a surge in violence.
The Afghan government accuses Pakistan of supporting militants, and some experts believe that Islamabad's lack of cooperation in the fight against terrorists emboldens both IS and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.
The current security situation, analysts say, demands that President Ghani take the IS threat more seriously and urge Islamabad to cooperate in the fight against the terror outfit.
Additional reporting by Shadi Khan Saif in Kabul, and Masood Saifullah.


Clic here to read the story from its source.