Abdul Ali Mazari
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| Abdul Ali Mazari عبدلعلی مزاری |
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| File:Shahidabdulalimazari.jpg | |
| In office 1989 – March 1995 |
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| President | Hezbe Wahdat Islami Afghanistan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1946 Chahar Kint, Balkh, Afghanistan |
| Died | March 1995 Ghazni, Afghanistan |
| Political party | Hezbe Wahdat |
| Profession | Politician |
| Religion | Shia Islam |
Abdul Ali Mazari (Persian: عبدلعلی مزاری, ʿAbd al-ʿAlī Mazārī)[1] was a political leader of the Hezbe Wahdat during and following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.[2] Mazari was an ethnic Hazara,[1] and believed the solution to the divisiveness in Afghanistan was in federalism, where every ethnic group would have specific constitutional rights.[3]
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[edit] Early life
An ethnic Hazara, Abdul Ali Mazari was born in the village of Charkent, south of the northern city of Mazari Sharif. Hence, his surname is "Mazari". He began his primary schooling in theology at the local school in his village, then went to Mazari Sharif, then Qom in Iran, and then to Najaf in Iraq.
[edit] Political life
In Iran, Mazari was imprisoned and tortured after being accused of conspiracy against the Shah of Iran in assistance with Iranian Shi'a clerics.
Simultaneously with the occupation of Afghanistan by the Soviet Red Army, Abdul Ali Mazari returned to his birthplace and gained a prominent place in the anti-Soviet resistance movement. During the first years of the resistance, he lost his young brother, Mohammed Sultan, during a battle against the Soviet-backed forces. He soon lost his sister and other members of his family in the resistance. His uncle, Mohammad Ja'afar, and his son, Mohammad Afzal, were imprisoned and killed by the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. He also lost his father, Haji Khudadad, and his brother, Haji Mohammad Nabi, in the rebellion and resistance movement.
[edit] Hezbe Wahdat
Abdul Ali Mazari was one of the founding members and the first leader of the Hezbe Wahdat ("Unity Party"). In the first Congress of the party, 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 Shamal ("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]
[edit] Civil War
The fall of Kabul to the Mujahideen marked the start of the Afghan Civil War[2] between various factions, parties and ethnic groups. During this period, Mazari led the forces of Hezbe Wahdat who were based in West Kabul. More than twenty-six fierce battles were fought against Hezbe Wahdat by the forces of Shora-e-Nezar, Abdur Rasool Sayyaf and Taliban. Sometimes the relationship between Mazari and Uzbek general Abdul Rashid Dostum was quite neutral, sometimes he was an ally, depending on the situation. The result of the fighting was great destruction in Kabul and the death of more than 50,000 civilians.[citation needed] More than 300 civilians were massacred in the Hazara-dominated district of Afshar in Kabul and many more about 3000 in around Kabul especially in Karte Seh by the invading forces of Ahmad Sha Masoud, and then by Dostom and Mazari's warlords.
[edit] Taliban era and death
In March 1995, the Taliban invited him for political dialogue but then arrested him along with his five companions in Chaharasyab, near Kabul. The next day he was thrown out from a helicopter stripped naked while in flight near Ghazni which killed him. The Taliban issued a statement that Mazari attacked the guards when he was being flown to Qandahar. Later his body and those of his companions were handed over to Hezbe Wahdat, all mutilated and showed signs of brutality. Mazari's body was carried on foot from Ghazni in the west to Mazar-e-Sharif in the north of Afghanistan by his followers over a period of forty days. He is regarded a national hero by the Hazara community.'
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Afghanistan Online: Biography (Abdul Ali Mazari)". Afghan-web.com. 1995-03-13. http://www.afghan-web.com/bios/yest/mazari.html. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
- ^ a b "Afghanistan rocked by northern bombing". Asia Times Online. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IK08Df02.html. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ Mazari, Abdul Ali (1995 (1374 AH)) Iḥyā-yi huvyyat: majmū‘ah-’i sukhanrānīha-yi shahīd-i mazlūm ... Ustād ‘Abd ‘Ali Mazāri (rah) (Resurrecting Identity: The collected speeches of Abdul Ali Mazari) Cultural Centre of Writers of Afghanistan, Sirāj, Qum, Iran, OCLC 37243327
- ^ Father of Hazara Nation - Abdul Ali Mazari at Hazara.net. Accessed 2011-02-28
[edit] External links
- Tabaro-Baghe-Gole-Sorkh - Poetry about Abdul Ali Mazari at BabaMazary.blogfa.com
- Picture gallery at Picasaweb
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