Hizb-e-Wahdat

Hizb-e-Wahdat, the Islamic Unity Party, was a major Shi'a Hazara faction that emerged as a key player in the Afghan civil war following the fall of the communist regime in 1992. Led by Abdul Ali Mazari, known as Baba Mazari among his fellow Hazaras, the party had strong ties to Iran and represented a community that had long been oppressed and neglected in Afghanistan's power structure. When the Mujahideen factions turned on each other after the defeat of the Soviets, Hizb-e-Wahdat became one of the most formidable and feared combatants in the battle for Kabul.

Role in the Civil War and Sectarian Violence

Hizb-e-Wahdat's involvement in the 1992-1996 conflict was characterized by extreme brutality, particularly in West Kabul, where it fought against the Pashtun forces of the warlord Sayyaf. The shelling from both sides knocked down power lines and pulverized entire blocks of shops and homes. The violence quickly escalated into sectarian massacres: Pashtun militiamen attacked Hazara households, breaking in and shooting entire families execution-style, while Hazaras retaliated by abducting Pashtun civilians, raping Pashtun girls, shelling Pashtun neighborhoods, and killing indiscriminately. Every day, bodies were found tied to trees, sometimes burned beyond recognition, often with their eyes gouged out and tongues cut out. The party's forces were also responsible for firing rockets that slammed into civilian houses, including the one that killed the three young militiamen who had occupied Tariq's former home.

Conflict with the Taliban

When the Taliban began their march toward Kabul in the mid-1990s, Hizb-e-Wahdat was one of their primary targets. The Taliban captured and executed the party's leader, Abdul Ali Mazari, in a move that signaled their intent to crush Hazara resistance. For two years, the Taliban made their way toward Kabul, taking cities from the Mujahideen and ending factional war wherever they settled. Hizb-e-Wahdat, along with other factions, fired on the city and exchanged rockets with Ahmad Shah Massoud's forces, but the Taliban's unity proved decisive. By September 1996, the Taliban had captured Jalalabad and Sarobi, and Massoud and Rabbani withdrew from Kabul, leaving the city to fall to the Taliban.

Legacy and Significance

Hizb-e-Wahdat's role in the Afghan civil war exemplifies the tragic fragmentation of the Mujahideen after their common enemy, the Soviet Union, was defeated. The party's sectarian violence against Pashtun civilians and its fierce rivalry with Sayyaf's forces deepened ethnic divisions that would persist for decades. The party's inability to unite with other factions against the Taliban allowed the Taliban to pick off their opponents one by one, ultimately leading to the fall of Kabul and the establishment of the Taliban's brutal regime. Hizb-e-Wahdat's history in this period serves as a stark reminder of how the Mujahideen, armed to the teeth but lacking a common enemy, found the enemy in each other, with devastating consequences for the Afghan people.