Kabul, Over 1,000 members of Afghanistan’s Shia Hazara community have vowed their support to the Taliban regime, media reported. The Hazaras pledged their support on Thursday, saying that the “dark period” of previous Western-backed governments had ended with the return of the Islamists, the Dawn reported. Afghan Hazaras, who make up 10 to 20 per cent of the nation's around 38 million population, have been victim of Islamist’s atrocities for a long time, yet elders of the community gathered in Kabul together with Taliban leaders and pledged their support. Jafar Mahdawi, a senior Hazara leader and former lawmaker described the previous government of President Ashraf Ghani’s as the “darkest point’ in Afghan history. "Afghanistan had no independence and (foreign) embassies ruled every aspect of the government," Mahdawi said, adding “Thank God, we have now passed this dark period.” Since the Taliban seized power in August, the new rulers have put an end to the war, stopped corruption and increased security, Mahdawi said, calling on the current regime to be more inclusive, urging the new rulers to reopen schools for girls. “In the coming weeks or months we hope to witness an inclusive government that has representatives of all people,” Mahdawi said. The current Taliban government, an interim one, does not include any woman and is only made up almost entirely of the group’s Pashtun stalwarts.
|