Dehati, a local administrative official from Kunduz, asks me to listen to a song that went viral on social media after the Taliban took over Kabul two months ago. The song, ‘Sarzamin Man’ (“my homeland”), is written by the celebrated Afghan singer Dawood Sarkhosh and describes a tale of separation, pain and longing for one's homeland.
Sarkhosh belongs to the Hazara ethnic community, which has long faced discrimination in Afghanistan including forced displacement, targeted executions and repression.
On 8 October, a suicide bomber carried out an attack on a Hazara Shia mosque in Kunduz during prayers, killing more than 70 people and injuring another 100. In the past week, more people have succumbed to their injuries. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP), the regional affiliate of the Islamic State (IS) group in Afghanistan.
