South Asia State of Minorities Report 2019 bloody suicide attack at a wedding hall in Kabul, 42 stating that the reason for the attack was that Shias are ‘infidels’.43 Ismaili Shia44 Shias are divided into two main branches, the Imami and the Ismaili. The majority of Shias are Imamis. In Afghanistan, too, the Imami Shias are a majority. Ethnically, the Ismaili Shias are mainly Hazaras but there are Ismailis among Tajiks and Sadats. Ismailis are among the most oppressed religious minorities in Afghanistan who have been suppressed by the dominant ethnic groups within the state bureaucracy throughout modern Afghan history. They are generally treated with suspicion by other ethnic groups, even by Imami Shias. They have endured the same level of persecution as Hazaras, but also face a higher degree of religious persecution as they were suppressed by the Sunnis and ignored by the Imami Shias. Even at present, Ismailis are excluded on the basis of their religion and barred from holding positions of political authority.45 The emergence of the Taliban resulted in the position of Ismailis becoming even more precarious. The Taliban massacred Ismailis in 2000 and 2001. In May 2000, 31 noncombatant Ismailis were summarily executed near the Robatak Pass in Baghlan after being held captive for four months.46 One of the worst periods for Ismailis was in 1998, when the Taliban forces overpowered their frontline resistance militias, entered their settlement and began indiscriminate killing, pillage, and destruction. A local elder claimed that ‘around 400 people in the valley were killed, including refugees who had fled 42 ‘Afghanistan: Bomb Kills 63 at Wedding in Kabul’, BBC, August 18, 2019, accessed November 11, 2019, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49383803. 43 Ami Kazmin, ‘ISIS Claims Responsibility for Suicide Bombing at Kabul Wedding,’ Financial Times, accessed November 11, 2019, https://www.ft.com/ content/8294328e-c1b7-11e9-a8e9-296ca66511c9. 44 Most Ismailis are ethnic Hazara who live in central and northern areas of Afghanistan. Ismailis of Tajik ethnicity live in north-eastern province of Badakhshan. 45 ‘Official Reports | U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan,’ accessed November 11, 2019, https://af.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/official-reports/?_ ga=2.230763423.1827258046.1573476024-1261957251.1573476024. 46 Human Rights Watch, ‘Afghanistan: Massacres of Hazaras—Background,’ accessed November 11, 2019, https://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/afghanistan/ afghan101-02.htm. 10