Afghan Khazars Wish To Take Part In Inter-Afghan Peace Conference In Bonn

The Khazars, who take part in the forces of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, intend to send their representatives to Bonn to the inter-Afghan conference which will discuss the future political regime in Afghanistan, a RIA Novosti correspondent reports with reference to the NNI agency. The Khazars account for about eight percent of the population in Afghanistan and live mainly in several provinces of Central Afghanistan, otherwise called Khazarjat. They are Shiites, because of which they were persecuted by the Talibs who belong to the Sunni sect of Islam. The forces of the Northern Alliance consist mainly of Tajiks, Uzbeks and people of other ethnic minorities, including Khazars who consider themselves the descendants of the soldiers of Jenghiz Khan and Timur (or Tamerlane). The Khazars stand for an autonomy and guaranteed rights, equal with other peoples inhabiting Afghanistan.