The seventeenth anniversary of Shaheed Abdul Ali Mazari, known as Baba (father) Mazari, was commemorated on Friday, March 09, 2012 with the participation of tens of thousands of people, government officials, leaders of political parties, intellectuals and civil society activists here in Kabul. Every year, Shaheed Mazari is read and reviewed as the harbinger of social justice and promoter of national unity inside and outside Afghanistan. Shaheed Mazari put forth a comprehensive political plan for the multi-ethnic society of Afghanistan. He based his plan on power-sharing and proportionality.

At the time when ethnic identities were politicized and ethnic antagonism and extremism influenced politics in Afghanistan, Mazari explained that it was impossible to bring together the divided nation by excluding one or another ethnic group or one or another political party from power and government structures. Mazari promoted "national unity" as a principle in Afghanistan. He critiqued the despotic, autocratic and authoritarian regimes and rulers of the past and called for a radical departure from those political structures and culture.

Mazari also critiqued the atrocities, oppression and injustices done to some ethnic groups in the country throughout the history. He believed that reading the history and talking about the injustices done to specific segments of the society is not about war with others (ethnic groups). Shaheed Mazari also promoted and advocated for the political, civil, social and economic rights of women in Afghanistan. His documentary speeches show him criticizing the Jihadi factions that were denying women any rights to participate in decision-making for the country. Observers and analysts are of the view that Mazari's political thought and plan became the basis for Bonn agreement and the ensuing democratic political system.

Mohammad Karim Khalili inviting the Taliban for a political dialogue, urged the Afghans to forge unity in their ranks to preserve what the nation had achieved over the past one decade. "His followers did not stop following in his footsteps even in very hard times," he said adding that "National unity is very important and it is the time to work on it," Khalili added.

Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, a prominent Hazara leader and the head of judicial commission of Wolesi Jirga, leader of People's Unity Party of Afghanistan and a senior leader of National Front of Afghanistan, warned against pro-Taliban policies pursued by president Karzai and his government. The National Front of Afghanistan believes that peace process should encompass all ethnic groups and must not lead to exclusion of political parties and civil society organizations and women to appease the Taliban that are yet to denounce violence and terrorism.

Ahmad Zia Masoud, the head of National Front of Afghanistan- which is the main political opposition comprised of major and influential political parties that represent more than fifty percent of Afghan population- also called for decentralization of power and said that the ongoing problems in the country emanate from the authoritarianism that has taken the stead of democratic processes that began with Bonn agreement in late 2001.

General Abdul Rashid Dostum, the founder and leader of Junbesh Milli Islami party and one of the leaders of National Front of Afghanistan, in his statement and message called for a decentralized political system that could accommodate the interests and demands of all identity groups in the plural and divided society of Afghanistan.

Mohammad Younus Qanooni, the former speaker of Wolesi Jirga and an MP, says that twenty years ago, Shahid Mazari proposed a decentralized political system and viewed that as a mechanism for realization of social justice. Today, decentralization of power structures and political system has become a predominant discourse in Afghanistan.