An ethnic Hazara, Ustad 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. Resistance against Soviet rule in Afghanistan With the occupation of Afghanistan by the 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 regime in Afghanistan. He also lost his father, Haji Khudadad, and his brother, Haji Mohammad Nabi, in the rebellion and resistance movement. 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. During the second Congress, he was elected Secretary General of the Wahdat Party. 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 regime in Kabul. Civil War The fall of Kabul to the Mujahideen marked the start of the Afghan Civil War 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 relation of Mazari with the general Abdul Rashid Dostum was quite neutral, sometimes he was an ally, depending on the situation. The result was total destruction of Kabul city and the death of more than 50,000 civilians. More than 900 civilians were massacred in the Hazara-dominated district of Afshar in Kabul and many more in Karte Seh by the invading forces of Ahmad Shah Masoud, and Abdur Rasool Sayyaf. Taliban betrayal and death Mullah Burjan, the Taliban leader, requested a personal meeting with Mazari. On 12 March 1995, Mazari set off towards Chahar Asiyab in the company of a group of the Central Committee members in a convoy of two cars, whereupon they were betrayed, disarmed and arrested. A Western journalist photographed Mazari with tied hands and feet. On March 13 1995, Mazari along with nine of his followers were murdered by the Taliban. They threw him out of a helicopter midair in Ghazni province, but later they claimed that Mazari and his companions tried to escape while being transferred in helicopters to Kandahar, the Taliban stronghold. His body was found in Ghazni.[4] Soon after his death, his forces were disarmed, and the whole of West Kabul came under Taliban rule. The violent death of Mazari stunned his followers and allies. His followers carried his body from Ghazni to Bamiyan on foot; from there it was flown to Mazar-i-Shariff on a helicopter for burial. Dostum, representatives of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and Mujahdidi attended the funeral services of Mazari. A statement issued by the Foreign Ministry of Iran called Mazari, a martyr.
Posted on: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 06:27:39 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015