Taliban demolished a roundabout in western Kabul on Saturday night that was dedicated to Abdul Ali Mazari, the former leader of the Hizb-e Wahdat party. The move has sparked outrage, with the “Global Hazara Council” condemning it as a “crime” against Afghanistan’s Hazara community.
Nematullah Barakzai, a spokesperson for the Taliban-run Kabul municipality, confirmed the destruction of the roundabout in a video statement, citing road improvements and the need to ease traffic in the area as reasons for the demolition.
The Global Hazara Council condemned the act, calling it a “crime” and a form of “cultural genocide” against Afghanistan’s Hazara citizens.
“The destruction of the statue and Abdul Ali Mazari roundabout, which symbolize resistance and justice, is an act of cultural genocide and a deliberate attempt to erase the identity of the Hazara people,” the council said in a statement.
The council further noted that the Taliban’s actions violate the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, stating that it represents a “clear violation of the cultural and social rights” of the Hazara community in Afghanistan.
The Global Hazara Council also called the demolition a “serious threat to Afghanistan’s cultural and historical heritage” and described it as inflicting “psychological harm” on the Hazara population, labeling it a “crime against humanity.”
Ahmad Massoud, leader of the National Resistance Front, also reacted to the demolition, stating that the Taliban’s actions would not erase Mazari’s legacy.
“The martyrs of the struggle for justice and freedom, like Martyr Mazari, the National Hero, are not defined by a tombstone or a monument. Their legacy lives on in the hearts of the people,” Massoud wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “As long as there is someone in this land who breathes for justice and freedom, they will never be forgotten.”
