Azaranica is a non-biased news aggregator on Hazaras. The main aim is to promote understanding and respect for cultural identities by highlighting the realities they face on daily basis...Hazaras have been the victim of active persecution and discrimination and one of the reasons among many has been the lack of information, awareness, and disinformation.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Interview: In Conversation with Khadim Ali




Khadim Ali is a contemporary Pakistani artist who lives and works in Sydney, Quetta and Kabul. His work is featured in No Country: Contemporary Art for South and Southeast Asiathe inaugural Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative touring exhibition, which is currently being presented at the Asia Society Hong Kong until 16 February 2013.

The title of Khadim Ali’s Rustam Series (2011–12) references the hero of the Persian Shahnameh (Book of Kings) in Ferdowsi’s 11-century epic poem. Ali’s paintings recall only his name, alluding instead to the displacement and persecution of the Hazara minority in Afghanistan and Pakistan, a community to which Ali traces his heritage.

Q: Your family left Afghanistan at a turbulent period in the country’s history. How does this affect your feelings towards the country and your place of birth?

A: My family left Afghanistan in the 1890s when the first grand massacres of Hazara started by King Amir Abdul Rahman and he massacred over 62% of the entire population of Hazaras and captured their land and took their children and ladies as slaves and sold Hazaras to India – almost 10 000 Hazaras were sold to India and all the taxes were given to the government. So it was then my grandparents left Afghanistan and moved to India, before the partition of Pakistan in India, so they chose to live at the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan with the hope that someday Afghanistan will be a free land and they are going to claim their land back, but it never happened.

Q: Hong Kong is a very multi-cultural city, home to over 7 million people of many nationalities. What are your impressions of the city?

A: I felt like everything is pointing skywards and it’s like a compressed version of New York and I was thinking I am going to have extreme problems here because I don’t speak Mandarin or Cantonese, but then almost every second person is a really good English speaking person.

Q: What do you hope audiences will take away from your work?

A: When audiences ask me what is the meaning of that particular artwork, I always think that a work of art is like a poem – when you read a poem, a poem is so versatile, you just own it and personalize it. It goes into your very personal moments and stays in you, if you like, and you translate it according to your own feeling. I think a work of art – of visual art – should be like that and having that versatility of a poem or versatility of music.

Q: Your work is informed and inspired by storytelling and ancient texts – could you elaborate on that?

A: I don’t want people to come in and look at the work the way I am looking at the work. They are free to have whatever meaning they want to – my work is part of my life and part of my career with the storytelling culture but my work is not a story. There is no story behind the work. I think there shouldn’t be any story behind any visual artwork – it should be as free as music, it should have the versatility of music.

Q: Which artists inspire you?

A: I always ask myself which artists I am inspired by but I only look at my work and can say which artists I am inspired by. I am inspired by the 15 century old master Muhammad Siyah Qalam who was also painting demons and I am really inspired by his works.

Friday, December 13, 2013


No Pomegranate Was Imported From Iran



Quetta: Customs Collectorate Office reported to provincial government that no pomegranate were imported from Iran, yet the religious fanatics "discovered" pages of holy Koran from crates of pomegranate that "were imported from Iran", and used it to as a pretext to attack markets in the city, in which one person died and several others injured.





"Discovering pages of holy Koran from Pomegranate crates, that were imported from Iran"



Attacking the Markets 


Thursday, December 12, 2013

First Afghan woman governor wins Magsaysay award

Habiba Sarabi was honoured for helping build a functioning local government and pushing for education and women's rights in Afghanistan's Bamyan province despite discrimination and poverty.

Press Trust of India : Manila, Wed Jul 24 2013, 13:30 hrs

Afghanistan's first and only female governor and a humanitarian worker from the Kachin minority in Myanmar are among this year's recipients of a Philippine leadership prize.

Habiba Sarabi was honoured for helping build a functioning local government and pushing for education and women's rights in Afghanistan's Bamyan province despite discrimination and poverty.

Lahpai Seng Raw helps rehabilitate damaged communities amid armed conflict.The Ramon Magsaysay Awards announced today honour three individuals and two organisations for changing their societies for the better.

They are named after a popular Philippine president who died in a plane crash in 1957.

کوئٹہ میں احتجاج، ایک ہلاک تین افراد زخمی


آخری وقت اشاعت: جمعرات 12 دسمبر 2013 ,‭ 02:01 GMT 07:01 PST



قانون نافذ کرنے والے اداروں نے مشتعل افراد کو علمدار روڈ جانے سے روکنے کے لیے آنسو گیس کا استعمال کیا اور ہوائی فائرنگ بھی کی

پاکستان کے صوبہ بلوچستان کے دارالحکومت کوئٹہ میں فروٹ کی پیٹیوں سے مبینہ طور پر قرآنی اوراق کی برآمدگی کے خلاف شہر میں پرتشدد احتجاج کے دوران ایک شخص ہلاک اورتین زخمی ہوئے۔

کوئٹہ میں ہمارے نامہ نگار نے بتایا کہ شہر میں ہنگامہ آرائی کا سلسلہ بدھ کی دوپہر اس وقت شروع ہوا جب مشتعل افراد کی ایک بڑی تعداد نے علمدار روڈ جانے کی کوشش کی جس کی زیادہ تر آبادی شیعہ مسلک باالخصوص ہزارہ قبیلے سے تعلق رکھنے والے افراد پر مشتمل ہے۔

قانون نافذ کرنے والے اداروں نے مشتعل افراد کو علمدار روڈ جانے سے روکنے کے لیے آنسو گیس کا استعمال کیا اور ہوائی فائرنگ بھی کی۔

قانون نافذ کرنے والے اداروں نے اگرچہ مشتعل افراد کی علمدار روڈ جانے کی کوشش ناکام بنادی لیکن انہوں نے شہر کے مختلف علاقوں میں ٹائر جلائے جبکہ بعض علاقوں میں دکانوں کے شیشے بھی توڑ دیے۔

اس صورتحال کے باعث شہر میں شدید خوف و ہراس پھیل گیا اورشہر کے مر کزی علاقوں میں تمام دکانیں بند ہوگئیں۔

سول ہسپتال کے ذرائع کے مطابق چار افراد کو ہسپتال لایا گیا جن کو گولیاں لگی تھیں جن میں سے ایک بعد میں زخموں کی تاب نہ لاکر چل بسا۔

قبل ازیں کوئٹہ کی فروٹ مارکیٹ سے انار کی پیٹیوں سے مبینہ طور پر قرآنی اوراق کی بر آمدگی کے خلاف کوئٹہ پریس کلب کے باہر احتجاج کیا گیا۔

مظاہرین کا یہ الزام تھا کہ انار کی یہ پیٹیاں ایران سے بر آمد کی گئی تھیں۔

کوئٹہ میں پریس کانفرنس سے خطاب کرتے ہوئے اہلسنت والجماعت کے صوبائی امیر مولانا محمد رمضان مینگل نے شہر میں ہنگامہ آرائی سے لاتعلقی کا اعلان کیا اور عوام سے پرامن رہنے کی اپیل کی۔

ان کا کہنا تھا کہ جس شخص نے یہ انار بر آمد کیے تھے اس کو گرفتار کر لیا گیا اور فروٹ مارکیٹ میں اس کی دکان کو بھی سیل کر دیا گیا ہے۔

دوسری جانب مجلس وحدت المسلمین نے کوئٹہ شہر میں ہنگامہ آرائی کرنے والو ں کے خلاف کارروائی کا مطالبہ کیا۔

پریس کانفرس سے خطاب کرتے ہوئے مجلس کے رہنما عباس موسوی نے دعویٰ کیا کہ اہل تشیع سے تعلق رکھنے والے 12 افراد لاپتہ ہیں۔

کوئٹہ میں بدھ کے روز ہونے والے ہنگامہ آرائی سے متعلق محکمہ داخلہ بلوچستان نے ایک پریس نوٹ جاری کیا جس کے مطابق ایک ریلی کے شرکاء نے لیاقت بازار میں دکانوں کو زبردستی بند کرانے کی کوشش کی۔

پریس نوٹ کے مطابق دکانوں کو زبردستی بند کرنے کے خلاف مزاحمت پر دو گروپوں میں فائرنگ کا تبادلہ ہوا جس کے 
نتیجے میں ایک شخص ہلاک اور تین افراد زخمی ہوئے۔

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Press Conference by MPA Agha Raza



Quetta: Pages of Persian Poetry Were Presented as Pages of Holy Koran


Pages of Persian poetry were presented as pages of holy Koran and used for violence in Quetta city. 




Religious fanatics know how to play with religious sentiments of people, and are looking for new ways to justify their terrorism and senseless violence in the Quetta city.  Yesterday, the "discovery" of poetry pages from pomegranate crates,  imported from Iran were used for rallying and attacking markets, in which a person lost his life and several others were injured. 

Quetta: Mob Burning Motorcycle

Quetta: Mob Burning HDP's Flag

Quetta: Tearing Down Election Posters

One dead, four injured in Balochistan violence






SYED-ALI-SHAH

-File Photo
Published 2013-12-11 20:12:20

QUETTA: At least one person was killed and four others injured on Wednesday in a firing incident in Liaquat Bazaar area of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.

Police said the incident forced shopkeepers to shut down their shutters, resulting in Liaquat Bazaar, Sattar Road and other commercial parts of Quetta to be closed.

"Miscreants opened firing in different parts of the city and caused panic," police said in a press release.

The injured were immediately rushed to civil hospital Quetta for medical treatment.

"The condition of two of the injured seems to be serious," a duty doctor who requested not to be named told Dawn.com.

An angry mob later burnt tires at Jinnah Road, Liaquat Bazaar, Bacha Khan Chowk and Qandahari Bazaar.

The protesters pelted stones at vehicles and set fire to a motorcycle in the city.

The situation prompted the Balochistan government to deploy frontier corps and a large contingent of police and Balochistan Constabulary to avert any major untoward incident.

"The situation is now under control with the support of the masses," police said.

Throughout the day, panic prevailed in the city as police and security forces patrolled all sensitive areas of Quetta.

Most of the citizens were confined to their homes in commercial areas of Quetta where the angry mob was protesting.

Similarly, there was a traffic jam as a result of the protest demonstrations.

"We faced problems because road blockades were everywhere," Dr. Irfan Tareen, a well-know physician, told Dawn.com.

All political and religious parties disowned miscreants who pelted stones and were responsible for aerial firing in the city.

Police said cases have been lodged against unknown miscreants for firing incident in City Police Station.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Sunday, December 8, 2013


Bamiyan: Youths Vigil For Nelson Mandela



شماری ازجوانان و فعالان مدنی بامیان عصر روز شنبه با روشن کردن شمع درپای عکس نلسون مندیلا، اولین رییس جمهور افریقای جنوبی و رهبرجنبش ضد آپارتاید درگذشت وی را برای تمام عدالت خواهان جهان تسلیت گفتند.این جوانان هدف از این حرکت شانرا ابراز همدردی با خانواده مندیلا ومردم افریقای جنوبی یاد کرده بیان داشتند که نلسون مندیلا بهترین الگو برای تمام رهبران جهان به خصوص افغانستان باید باشد.


Saturday, December 7, 2013

News Package On Local Government Election Quetta: Mechid TV

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

BBC World Service: 'Hell on Earth': Inside Quetta's Hazara community

By Mobeen AzharBBC World Service
Ruqsana Bibi at the cemetary in Quetta where her sons are buried

For years Quetta in Pakistan has rarely been visited by foreign media organisations, as it is considered too dangerous. Now a World Service investigation has uncovered the reality of life for the city's persecuted Hazara Shia community in what some describe as "hell on earth".

On 10 January 2013, a suicide bomber walked into a packed snooker hall in Quetta and detonated an explosive device, marking the beginning of what would become the bloodiest day in Pakistan's recent history.

Eight people died in the initial blast and the area soon became flooded with people trying to help. A second bomb planted on an ambulance was then detonated.

The attacks killed more than 120 people, most of them from the Hazara Shia community, in a campaign strategically planned to inflict maximum carnage.

Quetta's Hazara community is on the front line of Pakistan's battle with violent extremism.

Ruqsana Bibi lost three of her four sons on that day. The walls of her modest home are filled with family pictures. She sits on the floor holding three frames. Each contains a picture of one of the children she lost.

"I ran to the mosque barefoot and I saw the bodies of my three sons. I kissed their faces. I carried them to the cemetery myself. The eldest was Khadim Husain. I said to him: 'You must take care of your brothers in the grave.' I don't know what happened to me then. People took me home."

Mrs Bibi says her grandsons, aged nine and five, are afraid that they too will be "martyred" one day.

"They say: 'Who are these people killing us?' Who are these people that are stirring up trouble between Sunnis and Shias? It didn't used to be like this."

Mrs Bibi's family, like almost all of the victims of the Quetta attacks, are Hazara.

Hazaras are ethnically Mongolian, with oriental features and light skin, different from much of Pakistan's population.

The vast majority of Hazaras are Shia Muslim and are therefore declared "heretics" by militant Sunni Islamist groups like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.

Quetta is home to more than half a million Hazara Shias, making them an easy target for Sunni extremists who want to punish their "heresy" with violence.

Five weeks after the attack on the snooker hall, another bomb was detonated in a crowded market place in Quetta, killing almost 90 people.

It happened as people, mainly women, were shopping for groceries and schoolchildren were coming out of their classes.

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for both attacks.

The group released a statement declaring that they planned to turn Quetta into "a graveyard for Shias".

Fighting for survival

The extreme violence in Quetta means many Hazaras feel pessimistic about their future in Pakistan. Nargis Ali, 19, was planning on going to Balochistan University, in Quetta.

But faced with the security risks, her parents have asked her to give up on academia.
A suicide bomber detonated his device in this Quetta snooker hall in January

"I got brilliant results but even the university staff say they cannot guarantee my safety. My parents really wanted me to study but they are just so scared of what will happen," she told the BBC.

"Education is the most important thing to me - but what choice do we have?"

Many young Hazaras have fled Quetta, in the hope of claiming asylum in Australia and Europe. It is estimated that 90% of those fleeing the violence do so illegally..... Continue Reading..

Hazara Town Vegetable Market

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

کلیپ نمایشگاه نقاشی هنرمندان نگارستان هاتف