Pakistani Shia clerics raise Hazara concerns over forced evictions and land grabs with Taliban consul
A group of Pakistani Shia clerics and Hazara community figures in the city of Quetta have voiced serious concerns to Mullah Fazl-ul-Haq Shakir, the Taliban administration’s consul general in Quetta, over forced evictions of homes, the seizure of land and the closure of educational institutions in Afghanistan.
At the meeting, held on Monday, Oct. 18, their representatives referred to the forced eviction of residential areas in Nawabad in Ghazni province, the Sabz Town known as Nabi-zada Town, and the confiscation of property and shops in the Jebrail area of Herat province.
The Shia clerics also addressed the issue of land usurpation and handed the Taliban consul a protest note on the matter, indicating a rise in pressure by the Taliban administration on the Hazara community and the process of illegal land seizure.
In response to these concerns, the Taliban consul in Quetta claimed he would convey the issues raised to the relevant authorities in Kabul, but no tangible change has been seen in the situation so far.
The meeting came as the Taliban administration has recently declared a large number of lands as state property, while multiple reports have been published of the seizure of private land belonging to people, especially in areas under Hazara influence, sparking widespread concern in the community.
