Taliban destroy Hazara landmark amid roadworks in Kabul

On 21 September 2024, various Afghan news agencies reported the destruction of the Abdul Ali Mazari landmark in an intersection in West Kabul. Videos and photos shared on social media showed heavy machinery demolishing the roundabout in Dasht-e Barchi, a Hazara majority area of Police District (PD) 6.

The centre of the roundabout contained a landmark dedicated to Abdul Ali Mazari, a Hazara jihadi leader, and founder of the Hezbe Wahdat, a Shia political party formed in 1989. Mazari was reportedly captured, tortured, and killed by the Taliban in 1995.

On 22 September 2024, Omid Radio, an Afghan radio station, published a video statement by Nematullah Barakzai, spokesperson for the Kabul Municipality, regarding the demolition. Barakzai named four roundabouts that had been removed from the capital and redesigned as intersections, reportedly to improve traffic conditions. 

On 23 September 2024, the Kabul Municipality shared photos of the aftermath of the demolition, claiming it was part of ongoing works in the area to “improve the beauty of the Puli Surkh intersection.” AW noted that neither Barakzai’s video, nor the Kabul Municipality’s announcement, used the official name of the intersection (Shahid Abdul Ali Mazari intersection), referenced Abdul Ali Mazari, or mentioned the road that connects with the Puli Surkh road, named as “Shahid [Martyr] Mazari Road,” after the late Hazara leader.

AW verified the demolition of the four roundabouts mentioned by Barakzai, and noted that two were redeveloped as intersections by the previous administration, prior to Taliban takeover. AW assesses that Barakzai’s statement implying the demolition of the landmark was part of a wider ongoing project to improve the capital’s road infrastructure is likely an effort to downplay the destruction of an important Hazara cultural landmark.

The figure below shows the location of all the demolished roundabouts that were demolished, mentioned by Barakzai, and whether the work had been done before or after the Taliban returned to power.

The Kart-e Mamorin roundabout was the only other intersection mentioned by Barakzai that had been demolished and redesigned after August 2021. In November 2022, the Kabul Municipality shared footage showing the clearance of the area. In this footage, it is clear that the demolition took place during the day. The name of the roundabout was also clearly identified in the title of the video uploaded to the Kabul Municipality’s YouTube page.

Overall, AW assess the Kabul Municipality’s handling of the Mazari intersection’s destruction likely reflects a deliberate effort to minimise public scrutiny and negative attention of the monument. 

The landmark at the centre of Mazari’s roundabout had already been defaced by the Taliban in July 2024, as reported by AW. At the time, the damage was alleged to be part of a wider plan to connect Dasht-e Barchi to Puli Surkh neighbourhood, although the vandalism had no real impact on the roadworks. 

AW verified that the roundabout was located at the end of an 800-metre stretch of residential land that was cleared, with properties demolished, to build a new road connecting the two neighbourhoods. The satellite images below show the area before and after the land clearance for the reported road project.

As part of an upcoming investigation, AW has identified over 1.58 million square metres of land in the capital that has been cleared during the first three years of Taliban rule. According to numerous statements by the Kabul Municipality, the aim of this clearance has been to improve the city’s road infrastructure; however AW notes that a disproportionate number of residential properties have been demolished in areas where minority populations, such as Hazaras and Tajiks, are dominant, relative to other neighbourhoods. 

The demolition of the Hazara landmark at the centre of the Shahid Mazari intersection was met with criticism by many significant Afghan figures, including Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front. On 21 September 2024, Massoud posted a statement on social media claiming that the martyrs such as Mazari were “not tombstones or field clay that will be destroyed.” He added that they “have a place in the hearts” of the population and “will not be forgotten.”

The defacing of Mazari’s face on the roundabout in July 2024, and the complete destruction of the landmark in September 2024, are among the many actions taken by the Taliban to erase the name and presence of this historical Hazara historical figure from Afghanistan’s cultural fabric. 

In November 2021, the Taliban replaced a statue of Mazari in Bamyan with a statue of the Quran. In May 2022, the Taliban reportedly destroyed a sign in Ghazni, featuring the name “Mazari Road,” and renamed Abdul Ali Mazari Square in Daykundi to “Faiz Mohammad Kateb Square.” Similarly, in December 2023, the Abdul Ali Mazari Airport in Bamyan was renamed “Bamyan Airport.”