"Under Siege": Fear and defiance mark life for Pakistan's Hazaras

"Under Siege": Fear and defiance mark life for Pakistan's Hazaras

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High walls around the neighbourhoods of Pakistan's embattled Hazara community in the southwestern city of Quetta are designed to protect them from extremist militants, but also serve as a constant reminder of the threat they face.

Soldiers and security checkpoints greet visitors to Hazara Town, one of two large guarded neighbourhoods in the capital of Baluchistan, a province where religious and sectarian groups often target the mostly Shia Hazaras with bombs and guns.

. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro
Armed guards, who provide security for Abdul Khaliq Hazara, politician and chairman of the Hazara Democratic Party (HDP), chat with each other at his residence.

Despite improved security in recent years, partly because most Hazaras have moved into the guarded enclaves, hardline Sunni militants keep up attacks, such as a blast in April that killed 24 people, among them eight Hazaras.

. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro
Sardar Sahil sports his licensed gun as he gets ready to leave for office, at his home.

"We are living under siege for more than 1-1/2 decades due to sectarian attacks," said Sardar Sahil, a Hazara lawyer and rights activist.

"Though all these checkposts were established for our security, we feel we were ourselves also cut off from other communities."

Sahil carries a pistol whenever he leaves home, and relies on his faith as a second layer of security.

. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro
Sahil kisses his mother's hand.

"I kiss my mother's hand and she kisses me too and says goodbye with her prayers and good wishes," Sahil told Reuters at his home.

Hazaras, said to be descendants of the Mongols who swept out of central Asia to rule the subcontinent for many centuries, are easily distinguishable in Pakistan by their facial features.

. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro
A woman ascends a flight of stairs as she walks home on a hilltop in Mariabad.

That has made them vulnerable to attacks by groups such as Pakistan's banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), and Sunni militant group Islamic State, which has attacked them in both Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan, also home to many Hazaras.

Many community businesses that flourished in Quetta's bustling wholesale markets have shuttered and relocated to Hazara Town or Mari Abad, another Hazara neighbourhood.

But the community is defiant. Some still venture out into Quetta in search of work, while others keep businesses running.

. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro
A Hazara girl poses for a photograph during the Hazara Culture Day at the Qayum Papa Stadium.

The Quetta community held its first Hazara Culture Day this week to celebrate and showcase its history, music and traditions.

The community strives to keep its protests peaceful, despite unrest stirred up by militants looking to pit people of different sects against each other, said Abdul Khaliq Hazara, chairman of the Hazara Democratic Party (HDP), which has two provincial assembly representatives.

Domestic media often portray the Hazaras as targets of sectarian attacks or holding sit-ins to demand greater protection, but the community is developing and growing, said martial arts specialist Nargis Hazara.

. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro
Nargis Hazara works on her computer as she sits beside her portrait at her home.

"Every one of us has a dream, a target and aim in our heart, to change the image of Hazaras in the world, and especially in Pakistan," added the 20-year-old who last year became Pakistan's first winner of an Asian Games medal in karate.

. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro
Shaolin Kung Fu Grandmaster Mubarak Ali Shan, poses for a photograph at his office.

Many Hazaras have joined the armed forces in Pakistan, where the community's past and future will stay rooted despite any violence, said another martial arts expert, Mubarak Ali Shan.

"We want to serve Pakistan and despite suffering tragedies and incidents, our love for peace has not diminished," he added.

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Slideshow

Syed Raza Hazara, 18, back flips as he performs Parkour at the Qayum Papa Stadium.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

Syed Raza Hazara, 18, back flips as he performs Parkour at the Qayum Papa Stadium.

Houses belonging to ethnic Hazara community, stand on a hilltop in Mariabad.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

Houses belonging to ethnic Hazara community, stand on a hilltop in Mariabad.

People from ethnic Hazara community play a game Sang Girag (stone throwing) near a graveyard.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

People from ethnic Hazara community play a game Sang Girag (stone throwing) near a graveyard.

Hazara children play on a trampoline.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

Hazara children play on a trampoline.

Mohammad Asif Shahyan from the Hazara community, CEO of a Pioneers school, watches an assembly prayer. "I'm a social activist working for the betterment of the society to uplift the youth," Shahyan said.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

Mohammad Asif Shahyan from the Hazara community, CEO of a Pioneers school, watches an assembly prayer. "I'm a social activist working for the betterment of the society to uplift the youth," Shahyan said.

A Hazara girl with traditional jewellery poses for a photograph during a practice ahead of the Hazara Culture Day.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

A Hazara girl with traditional jewellery poses for a photograph during a practice ahead of the Hazara Culture Day.

A Hazara girl attends an assembly prayer.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

A Hazara girl attends an assembly prayer.

Ibrahim Hazara, 70, poses for a photograph while selling apricots from his push cart at a market.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

Ibrahim Hazara, 70, poses for a photograph while selling apricots from his push cart at a market.

Naveed Ali Hazara, 23,  poses for a photograph at a gym. "We are doing bodybuilding; firstly to build health and secondly, as sports gives you extra strength and keeps us away from drugs," Naveed said.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

Naveed Ali Hazara, 23, poses for a photograph at a gym. "We are doing bodybuilding; firstly to build health and secondly, as sports gives you extra strength and keeps us away from drugs," Naveed said.

Mohammad Bakir Hazara, 18, a carpenter, poses for a photograph at his workshop.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

Mohammad Bakir Hazara, 18, a carpenter, poses for a photograph at his workshop.

A Hazara girl with traditional jewellery does embroidery at a cultural stall during the Hazara Culture Day.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

A Hazara girl with traditional jewellery does embroidery at a cultural stall during the Hazara Culture Day.

Abdul Khaliq Hazara, 52, politician and chairman of the Hazara Democratic Party (HDP), which has two provincial assembly representatives, gestures during an interview.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

Abdul Khaliq Hazara, 52, politician and chairman of the Hazara Democratic Party (HDP), which has two provincial assembly representatives, gestures during an interview.

Sardar Sahil, 30-year-old Hazara lawyer and rights activist, eats breakfast with his mother.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

Sardar Sahil, 30-year-old Hazara lawyer and rights activist, eats breakfast with his mother.

Sardar Sahil sports his licensed gun as he gets ready to leave for office.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

Sardar Sahil sports his licensed gun as he gets ready to leave for office.

A Hazara man reads the Koran in front of photos of victims who lost their lives during target killings and bomb attacks, at the graveyard called Shuhda Qabristan (martyred graveyard).
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

A Hazara man reads the Koran in front of photos of victims who lost their lives during target killings and bomb attacks, at the graveyard called Shuhda Qabristan (martyred graveyard).

A Hazara man stands beside a poster depicting Jamkaran Mosque in Iran.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

A Hazara man stands beside a poster depicting Jamkaran Mosque in Iran.

Chief Minister Baluchistan Jam Kamal Khan (second left), along with chairman of the Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) Abdul Khaliq Hazara (third left) and others wear traditional Hazargi caps, as they cut the ribbon to begin Hazara Culture Day celebrations.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

Chief Minister Baluchistan Jam Kamal Khan (second left), along with chairman of the Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) Abdul Khaliq Hazara (third left) and others wear traditional Hazargi caps, as they cut the ribbon to begin Hazara Culture Day celebrations.

Siblings from a Hazara community ride a bike to school.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

Siblings from a Hazara community ride a bike to school.

A Hazara taxi driver, poses for a photograph. His tattoo reads in Urdu: "loneliness" and the letter "F" stands for the first letter of the name of his friend who was killed in a bomb blast.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

A Hazara taxi driver, poses for a photograph. His tattoo reads in Urdu: "loneliness" and the letter "F" stands for the first letter of the name of his friend who was killed in a bomb blast.

People watch traditional music performance during the Hazara Culture Day celebration at the Qayum Papa Stadium.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

People watch traditional music performance during the Hazara Culture Day celebration at the Qayum Papa Stadium.

Men install Pakistan's national flag on a stall ahead of the Hazara Culture Day celebration at the Qayum Papa Stadium.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

Men install Pakistan's national flag on a stall ahead of the Hazara Culture Day celebration at the Qayum Papa Stadium.

Afghanistan's Hazara singer Zahra Elham, performs Hazargi songs during the Hazara Culture Day celebrations.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

Afghanistan's Hazara singer Zahra Elham, performs Hazargi songs during the Hazara Culture Day celebrations.

Resident walk past a shop during sunset hours along a street in Mariabad.
. Quetta, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

Resident walk past a shop during sunset hours along a street in Mariabad.