Shocking facts about the recent terrorist attack against Shiites in Afghanistan
Author: Hamidullah Asadi, "Voice of Afghanistan"
Before we get to the heart of the tragedy in "Karivdal", let's go back a little.
In different historical periods, many stories were told about the killing of Hazaras on the Herat-Khazaristan route. Charugs (animal skin shoes) were made from the skins of hundreds of Karbala pilgrims. In this atmosphere of violence and terror, there was no media or Internet. But the story of these tragic crimes was passed from mouth to mouth in the villages; many have probably heard and remember them.
Let's not go far, during the same period of the Republic, in different parts of the province of Ghor, there were many murders and hostage-takings, if you search on Facebook, you will surely find many cases from the murder of the bride and groom and the participants of the wedding ceremony to civilians, students, government employees, soldiers and dozens of other tragedies.
As an example, I will cite the hostage-taking of three female students in 2008, who wanted to return to their homes during the summer vacation at the university but were kidnapped by Qari Rahmatullah Aimaq, who was acting under the banner of the Taliban. At that time, the local government of Ghor did not give a clear answer to the request of the students' families. Despite all the disappointments, one of the residents of Ghor called the commander Alipur, told him about the abduction of the students, and asked him to do something and solve their problem.
The commander was on the Helmand front, the first part of the Behsud district. He moved immediately with some soldiers but faced serious obstacles at the Gugardu post, which belongs to the Punjab district. After several hours of arguing, he managed to cross the post and reach the market of the Lal area. Upon arrival, he took 41 men and 5 women hostage. After this action, the local authorities contacted him, and Qari Rehmatullah addressed the elders and promised to release the female students in exchange for the release of the hostages. But the commander's response was negative. He said that until the girls returned to their homes safe and sound, he would not release these hostages. Qari Rahmatullah Aimak released the female students in the evening and gave a written guarantee that this crime would not be repeated.
The commander promised the people that he would return during his leave from the foothills of Behsud, where he served to hold meetings, consult, and discuss the problems of the residents of the area. But as soon as he arrived in Lal, he faced an unexpected reaction from the government, and as a result of the clash, a large number of civilians were killed and wounded in the areas of Lal and Sarjangal. This shows that cruel rulers at all times have always been on the side of terrorists. Otherwise, such crimes cannot happen so easily.
Qarivdal is the last inhabited area of the Hazaras in Sangtakht Bandar territory in Daykundi province. There is a pass on the border between Daykhandi province and Ghor province. From the territory of Qarivdal passes a public road leading to Gor and Herat. This village was contested between the Kochi nomadic Pashtuns and the Hazaras. The Hazaras had to buy the lands that the Kochis considered theirs at exorbitant prices.
However, like other parts of Afghanistan, Qarivdal could not escape attack as part of the project to suppress and conquer the community called Kochi. Unfortunately, a painful tragedy occurred a few days ago. A man named Chaman, who had a petrol station in the city of Chaghcharan, went on a pilgrimage to Karbala. Chaman's relatives, friends, and acquaintances decided to go and meet him and another group of pilgrims from Karbala outside the village. According to locals, the aimags are constantly persecuting the Hazaras under the name of the ISIS group. The current governor of Ghor is also an aimag.
The group that went to meet the pilgrims from Karbala reached their destination, the beginning of the Palusang Valley. At the same time, four armed men arrive on two motorcycles. They say that they want to take a group photo as a souvenir. Then, after immediately warning them not to break ranks, they start shooting and filming the attack.
The heartbreaking photo published as an appendix to the article is a moment and a screenshot from the same terrible film. Of this group, except for a few people who were seriously injured, including several children who survived, the remaining 14 people died on the spot. The few people who survived were witnesses to the tragedy. They watched this brutal picture of people drowning in an ocean of blood.
This is not the first time that such crimes have been committed in this area. The person in charge of this area is someone named Nader Khan. This area is a plain that connects north and south. A route that smugglers also travel. The group that cooperates with smugglers in this area is called the Nader Khan Tulay (company).
There have been several cases of individual murders in these same areas before. Both during the Republican period and during the Taliban period, but unfortunately, the previous and current local officials have never paid attention to the lawsuits of the people and the persecution of the criminals. The slogan of ensuring the safety of life, wealth, and dignity of the people always remains in the form of a promise.
The disaster in Qarivdal was really sad and painful...
