orfonline.org: As the Taliban solidifies its footing in Afghanistan, we witness a significant increase in the persecution of minority communities such as the Hazaras –  Soon after coming to power, the Taliban blew up the statue of the Hazara leader Abdul Ali Mazari in Bamiyan—a blow to any hope of moderation towards minorities. Reports about forced relocation and the Hazaras’ evictions from their ancestral lands and the land being given to the Taliban’s supporters also cropped up. They were removed from the Daykundi, Uruzgan, Kandahar, Helmand and Balkh provinces on short notice with no recourse to any legal redressal. Nearly 2,800 Hazara residents were evicted from 15 villages in Daykundi and Uruzgan in September 2021. This strategy of forcibly taking the Hazaras’ lands has been historically used to subjugate the group. Under the pretence of reform to build an Islamic system created by and for the Taliban, ethnic Hazaras were also excluded from the government’s bureaucracy and the judiciary. They only received token representation in the political setup, with Mawlawi Mehdi Mujahid being the only Hazara appointed as an intelligence chief of a central province when the group gained power. Mujahid was subsequently killed in August 2022 allegedly for rebelling against the Emirate. The group has also been targeting members of the community they perceive as a threat, with extrajudicial killings reported since they usurped power. Click here to read more (external link).