Muhammad Mohaqiq, the leader of the Islamic Unity Party of the People of Afghanistan, in a statement issued on the evening of Sunday, September 6 (15 Sunbula), said that since coming to power, the Taliban have increased pressure on the Hazara and Shiite communities by revoking the official recognition of the Ja'fari school of jurisprudence and depriving approximately ten million citizens of their political rights and participation in the state structure.
In this statement, the expropriation of property from the owners of the Nawabad township in Ghazni, pressure on the residents of Omid-e Sabz township in Kabul, and the declaration of the Jabril township marketplace in Herat as state property (amarlati) were cited as cases that, according to the Unity Party, have caused difficulties for thousands of families.
In another part of his statement, Mohaqiq addressed religious restrictions and criticized the imposition of constraints on Ashura ceremonies, disrespect toward Hussaini rituals and banners, and pressure on Shiite scholars regarding personal status laws.
In this context, the case of the Khatam al-Nabiyin seminary and university in Kabul has also been included in the list of the Unity Party's grievances.
The Taliban seized this religious and educational center last night, stormed it with armed force, arrested a number of professors and students, and expelled the enrolled students from the center.
The Unity Party also criticized the closure of Rah-e Farda and Tamaddun television stations in the media sector—outlets that for years had a wide audience among the Hazara and Shiite communities and operated in social, cultural, and religious fields.
From Mohaqiq's perspective, these actions are not isolated from one another. He framed the entire set of pressures—on people's properties, religious restrictions, confrontations with religious centers, and the closure of media—within the context of a broader campaign against the Hazara and Shiite communities.
The Unity Party also criticized the closure of the Public Relations Office of Hazara and Shiite elders in the Sarkariz district of Kabul and the arrest of its director and a number of its members.
The Unity Party's statement noted that despotic governments in Afghanistan have resorted to fueling ethnic and religious divisions in the final stages of their existence; however, according to the party, such policies not only did not help their survival but actually accelerated their decline.
In conclusion, Mohaqiq called on the Hazara and Shiite communities to maintain their unity and to use legal and logical means to defend their rights against what he described as "oppressive actions."
The leader of the Islamic Unity Party of the People of Afghanistan issued this statement while the Khatam al-Nabiyin seminary—one of the largest Shiite religious centers in Afghanistan—is currently surrounded by forces from the Taliban's Ministry of Justice.
Additionally, Muhammad Javad Mohseni, the head of Tamaddun Television, warned yesterday on his Facebook page about the possibility of a military attack on the Khatam al-Nabiyin seminary.