The Buddhas of Bamiyan by Llewelyn Morgan – review

The story of two Afghan sculptures, destroyed after a millennium and a half
Samanth Subramanian
guardian.co.uk, Friday 18 May 2012

Afghan girls walk past the empty seat of one of the Buddhas in Bamiyan. Photograph: Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images

In 2001, in a violent attempt to advance the cause of Islamic fundamentalism, a clutch of men empowered by the Taliban brought down a titanic pair of structures that loomed over their skyline. No lives were lost. The few people living near the Buddhas of Bamiyan, in central Afghanistan, were cleared out first, before anti-artillery weapons were trained on the sculptures, carved out of the russet cliffs of the Bamiyan valley. "These statues have been and remain shrines of unbelievers," a February 2011 edict from Mullah Omar had proclaimed. Their destruction was carried out with a rare and perverse vim. Failing at first to pulverise the Buddhas, the Taliban called in Pakistani and Arab engineers to finish the job. In The Places in Between, Rory Stewart observed that the Taliban had scorched a fresco on the ceiling of one of the caves that honeycomb the cliffs and then stamped boot-prints over the patina of soot. "This must have taken some effort, as the ceiling was 20 feet high....continue reading...

NATO in Afghanistan - Reaching out to Afghan women

Two Shia policemen shot dead in Quetta

Staff Report

QUETTA: Two police personnel, belonging to Shia sect, were shot dead and another two were injured in a targeted attack in the Sardar Karez area on Thursday.

Police said a police van was on a routine patrol when unidentified men opened fire on the vehicle in the Sardar Karez area of Eastern Bypass. Two officials, belonging to Hazara community, were killed on the spot and another two sustained injuries.

Heavy contingents of police and FC rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area. The bodies were shifted to the Bolan Hospital. The deceased were identified as constable Ghulam Murtaza and constable Sanaullah and those injured were ASI Muhammad Hussain and Constable Deen Muhammad. “It could be a case of sectarian killing,” a police official said. No group has claimed responsibility so far.

Balochistan Governor Zulfiqar Magsi and Chief Minister Aslam Raisani condemned the attack. A case has been registered against unidentified assailants.

Daily Times

BNP is gainst Sectarianism

The world turns a blind eye to killing of Hazaras in Pakistan

By Abdul Hekmat - posted Thursday, 17 May 2012

Imagine if the targets of Sydney’s drive-by shootings were not members of feuding bikie gangs but people singled out by virtue of their appearance to be shot dead while travelling to work by bus or car, shopping, attending a medical appointment or visiting relatives. It is beyond comprehension to imagine such a situation. Yet that is exactly what is happening to Hazaras in Pakistan. In recent years, armed terrorist groups have been targeting ordinary Hazara men, women and children on a weekly basis in Quetta, Pakistan. Over half a million Hazaras feel terrorized by these frenzy killings.

That is why on 10 May, over a thousand Hazara-Australians gathered in Canberra to protest against the systematic targeting of attacks on the Hazara community in Quetta, Pakistan. Men, women and children travelled by buses and cars from Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney. Marching from the Australian Parliament House to the UN office and then the Pakistani embassy, they chanted ‘we want justice,’ ‘we want security,’ ‘Hazara rights are human rights,’ and ‘why is the UN silent’? ....Continue Reading...

Stone carvers defy Taliban to return to the Bamiyan valley

Afghan students learn the centuries-old skills that carved out the giant buddhas blown up by extremists

Emma Graham-Harrison in Bamiyan

Wednesday 16 May 2012

Afghans learning the skills of stone-working in the Bamiyan valley, where the Taliban blew up two giant buddhas in 2001.


Under perfectly carved niches that once held dozens of small buddha statues, the purposeful tap of chisel on stone echoed over the Bamiyan valley for the first time in centuries.

Twelve young Afghans had gathered to take the first tentative steps back towards a stone-working tradition that once made their home famous, at a workshop in a cave gouged out as a monastery assembly hall more than 1,000 years ago....Continue Reading...

Tens Protest in Canada against Hazara Genocide in Pakistan

A protest rally was held in Toronto, Canada against the systematic genocide of Shia Muslims in Pakistan.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - A protest rally was held in Toronto, Canada against the systematic genocide of Shia Muslims in Pakistan. Protesters marched down to Dundas Square holding banners and placards with slogans against killing of Shia Muslims by sectarian terrorists in Pakistani city of Quetta. The rally was organized by Hazara Association of Canada.

Placards read: “Stop Genocide of Hazara (Shia Sect) People in Pakistan”, “We Canadians Want Our Government to Pressurize Pakistan to Stop Killing of Hazara People”, “Stop Supporting Taliban”, etc.

Speakers urged human rights organizations, the international community and United Nations to take notice of the systematic killing of Hazara Shia minority in Pakistani city of Quetta. They said a community of 600,000 are besieged and living under constant threat and fear. People cannot travel from their homes to schools, universities, bazaar and markets due to daily killing of Shia Muslims. They strongly condemned the Government of Pakistan for its utter failure to maintain peace. Speakers further questioned the role of powerful military intelligence agencies in Pakistan, asking how could a bunch of sectarian terrorists operate with impunity, it is not complicity of elements from within the law enforcement agencies.

The protesters urged the Canadian Government to use diplomatic pressure to stop a humanitarian crisis in Pakistani city of Quetta.

ABNA