Hazara Town

Hazara Town (Urdu: ہزارہ ٹاؤن, Hazaragi: آزره ٹاون, Dari: شهرک هزاره) is a lower- to middle-income area on the western outskirts of Quetta, Pakistan with a population of up to 1,500,000, of which an estimated two-thirds are ethnic Hazaras and the remaining portion are Pashtun and Baloch.[1]

Hazara Town ، چھوٹا لندن ہزاره ٹاون آزره ٹاون شهرک هزاره
Hazara Town
Coordinates: 30.179264°N 66.96373°E
Country	Pakistan
Province	Balochistan
District	Quetta District
Population  (2018)
• Total	1,500,000
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)

Hazara Town encompasses nine blocks,[2] beginning at Brewery Road near Bolan Medical College and continuing to Kirani road. The area has a geographical importance, as it makes up the largest part of Chiltan Town of Quetta city.

History

The earliest record of Hazaras in the areas of present day Pakistan are found in the Broad-foot's sappers company in 1835 at Quetta. This sappers company participated in the First Anglo-Afghan War. Besides this Hazaras also worked in the agriculture farms in Sindh and construction of Sukkur barrage.

Hazara Town, like the twin suburb of Mehr Abad, has built up over the last century due to chronic food deficiency in the Hazaristan region of Afghanistan and the persecution of Hazara people by Abdur Rahman Khan, Amir of Afghanistan in the late 19th century.[3]

In his seminal book War and Migration, Alessandro Monsutti classifies the Hazara migration to Balochistan in the following phases:

From 1878–1891

Following the second Anglo-Afghan war, the first Hazaras came to Quetta to seek employment in British-run companies under the Raj. They are thought to have worked on the building of roads and the Bolan Pass railway as well as enlisting in the British army of India. At that time, there could have been no more than a few hundred Hazaras in Balochistan. The subjugation of Hazarajat by Afghan emir Abdul Rahman, between 1891 and 1893, triggered a mass exodus of Hazaras to Turkistan, Khorasan and Balochistan.

From 1901 to 1933

The situation in Afghanistan returned to normal under Habibullah (1901–1919), the son of Abdur Rahman. He offered amnesty to the Hazaras but this proved to be of little help in improving the lot of the Hazara in Afghanistan. Many Hazara were reluctant to return to Afghanistan and determined to rebuild their lives in Quetta. In 1904, the 106th Hazara Pioneers, a separate regiment for the Hazaras formed by the British, offered greater careers prospects, social recognition and economic success.

The area was established in 1908 by Haji Nasir Ali (an ethnic Hazara, for whom Nasirabad is named) who bought the land from a Kirani Moudodi Chishti Syed family and built housing there. Many ethnic Hazaras from Afghanistan who came earlier were living in different areas of Quetta moved to the settlement, attracted by cheaper land and the security of the scheme.

From 1933 to 1971

The regiment of Hazara Pioneers was disbanded in 1933. Deprived of this social and professional outlet, Hazaras went to settle in Quetta between the 1930s and 1960s, although the process of migration never completely dried up.

From 1971 to 1978

Following the 1971 drought, Hazaras settled in Quetta or went to Iran in search of work. Between 1973 and 1978, conflict over the Pushtunistan issue between Pakistan and the Afghan regime, was another factor of Hazara migration to Pakistan, since President Daud Khan of Afghanistan saw the Hazara as Pakistan's allies. Following the Communist coup in April 1978 and the Soviet intervention in December 1979, the migratory movement assumed hitherto unprecedented dimensions.

"The area was established in 1982 by Haji Ali Ahmed (an ethnic Hazara) who bought the land from a Kirani Baloch family and built housing there. Many ethnic Hazaras from Afghanistan and who were living in different areas of Quetta moved to the settlement, attracted by cheaper land and the security of the scheme."[2]

Population

The population of Hazara Town is approximately 1,500,000, who are mostly Hazara, but there are also some other evening ethnicities living in Hazara Town. The other ethnicities such as Persian speaking Pashtons, Sayeds, Sayed Shashpar(6par) also live among the Hazaras in Hazara town. "The community of Hazara Town is a distinct minority in Quetta, which is dominated ethnically by baloch and is predominantly shia muslims."[2] Ethnic Hazaras are a majority in quetta, at about 40% of the total population. They speak Hazaragi as their mother tongue and practice Shi'a Islam. The population of Hazara town increases rapidly which requires wider residential areas.

Most of the houses in Hazara Town are constructed of concrete.[2]

Shopping

Hazara Town has established its own bazaar and food supply source for the people which help them in their shopping facilities. These shopping areas are mainly named as Ali Abad, Masjid Road and Hussain Abad. New Markets are being built which will increase the popularity of Hazara Town more than ever. Supplies are mostly delivered to Hazara town from the main producers.

Educational institutes

• Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University

Personalities

Below are some prominent personalities from Hazara Town:

• Saira Batool became one of the first female pilots in the Pakistan Air Force
• General Muhammad Musa served as Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Army from 1958 to 1966. He also served as Governor of West Pakistan
• Abdul Khaliq Hazara heads the Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) political party[4]
• Politician Hussain Ali Yousafi, chairman of the HDP, was killed by unknown gunmen in 2009, in the city of Quetta
• Haji Syed Hussain Hazara was a Pakistani senator and member of the Majlis-ash-Shura
• Syed Nasir Ali Shah is a member of Pakistani National Assembly from NA-259.

See also

• Mehr Abad
• Hussain Ali Yousafi
• Hazara Democratic Party (HDP)
• 106th Hazara Pioneers

References

1. "Case Study Series: Afghans in Quetta: Settlements, livelihoods, support networks and cross-border linkages". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 1 January 2006. p. 9. Retrieved 13 December 2010. Hazara Town is divided into nine blocks, and almost all the houses are made of concrete. Afghan residents are Persian-speaking Shias, originally from various provinces in central Afghanistan – including Hazaras who migrated to Pakistan well before the war in Afghanistan as well as those who fled as refugees over the recent years of conflict. The community is a distinct minority in Quetta, which is dominated ethnically by Pashtuns and is predominantly Sunni Muslim.
2. "Case Study Series: Afghans in Quetta: Settlements, livelihoods, support networks and cross-border linkages". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 1 January 2006. p. 9. Retrieved 13 December 2010. Hazara Town is divided into nine blocks, and almost all the houses are made of concrete. Afghan residents are Persian-speaking Shias, originally from various provinces in central Afghanistan – including Hazaras who migrated to Pakistan well before the war in Afghanistan as well as those who fled as refugees over the recent years of conflict. The community is a distinct minority in Quetta, which is dominated ethnically by Pashtuns and is predominantly Sunni Muslim.
3. Blind chickens and social animals: creating spaces for Afghan women's narratives under the Taliban, by Anna M. Pont, Mercy Corps (COR), 2001, Link, ISBN 1-9315-7300-X, p.95.
4. Qurat ul ain Siddiqui (7 May 2009). "We are not separatists". Dawn. Pakistan. Retrieved 13 December 2010.

External links

• Hazara Town map in Google Map