Abdul Khaliq Hazara (assassin)

Abdul Khaliq known as Abdul Khaliq Hazara (Persian: عبدالخالق هزاره), (1916 — December 18, 1933) was a Hazara student who assassinated Mohammed Nadir Shah, King of Afghanistan on 8 November 1933, during an award distribution ceremony. He was quickly arrested, tortured and later executed by quartering along with most of his relatives.

In 1933, Khaliq's uncle, brothers and father were arrested by Nadir Khan's regime after the execution of Ghulam Nabi Charkhi, an Amanullah supporter.

Khaliq witnessed the rise of King Nadir Khan from 1929 and the assassinations of Afghanistan's intellectuals and politicians. Nadir, who was a general of King Amanullah Khan, was summoned by Amanullah to fight against Habibullah Kalakani and restore the monarchy, but instead Nadir proclaimed himself king. He systematically hand-picked supporters of Amanullah Khan and imprisoned them. For years he plucked any person who he would think would someday stand against his reign were eliminated. The wrath of Nadir was over anyone not of the Mohammadzai tribe, his targets included the former king and his Pashtun clans, the Tajiks of the north and the Hazaras of central Afghanistan.

The assassination of Nadir Khan may have been done in revenge for the taxes and execution of Hazaras, and for actions of Ghulam Nabi Charkhi who was a former Afghanistan ambassador to Moscow who took part in the Afghan civil war of 1928-29 as a supporter of the previous ruler of Afghanistan, the reform-minded Amanullah Khan.

Khaliq was born in 1916 in the Chindawol area of Kabul, Afghanistan. He was a student at Nejat High School.

“Khaliq returned with a Nagant M1895 loaded with 6 bullets of 7.62×38mmR wrapped in a handkerchief hidden in his pocket. He stood behind Is'haq Sherdel and Mahmood. The national flag was lowered and Nadir Shah entered the rose garden. He examined the medals table and walked over towards the students. Khaliq reached into his pocket and pulled out the gun, aimed at Nadir Shah and pulled the trigger. The first bullet hit Nadir in his mouth, the second shot pierced Nadir's heart, and the third shot cut through Nadir's lung. The guards rushed towards Khaliq and a fourth bullet hit a guard. Khaliq then threw the gun as the guards chased him”.