The Afshar incident was a bloody tragedy committed by Ahmad Shah Massoud and his companions against the Hazara people, especially the Shia, during the internal conflicts in Afghanistan in the 1990s, which took place in Afshar, Kabul.
The Afshar incident is considered one of the most painful events in the history of Afghanistan for the Hazaras. This incident is also a sensitive point for the cultural, social and historical identity of the Hazaras. The incident has remained in the minds of the Hazara people as a point of doubt and violence due to the atrocities committed by Ahmad Shah Masoud and the Northern Alliance (United Front).
Recently, the issue of Afshar has been widely discussed by the Hazara community on social media. They consider the Afshar incident as part of the systematic and war crimes against the Hazara community and demand the prosecution of all the perpetrators of this incident in an international court.
With the re-emergence of this issue, Habibullah Hesam, head of the Scholars’ Council of the Resistance Front, referred to the Afshar issue in a tweet aimed at clarifying Ahmad Shah Masoud’s stance, stating that vigilance is essential to avoid falling prey to cunning enemies. He added that those who lack identity, civilizational and cultural authenticity and who do not possess great claims for the people, lurk and roam behind the wall of discord.
His remarks are turning a blind eye to the heinous crime committed by Ahmad Shah Massoud and all those criminals who carried it out with extreme brutality in Afshar; the fighters of the United Front/Alliance targeted ordinary young people, elderly men, children and women alongside their armed opponents and committed an unforgivable crime.
Evaluating the Afshar incident will lead you to the conclusion that it is the most brutal incident of genocide against the Hazara people, yet the perpetrators of this incident have not been brought to justice. Supporters of Ahmad Shah Massood still turn a blind eye to this crime decades later and now try to present themselves as innocent out of fear of the people’s court.
However, all living perpetrators of the Afshar incident must be tried, questioned about this great crime and justice must be served.
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