Hazara Protesters Rally During Afghan President's Visit To Australia

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (right) poses with the visiting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Canberra on April 3.

Hundreds of protesters staged a rally in the Australian capital as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani arrived for an official visit.

The mainly Hazara demonstrators gathered in Canberra on April 3, calling for Ghani to end what they said was discrimination against the ethnic minority in Afghanistan and repatriation of asylum seekers rejected by Australia.

Ghani’s four-day visit is the first trip by an Afghan president to Australia.

The protesters, carrying banners and flags, gathered outside Government House, where Ghani met with Governor General Peter Cosgrove.

In 2011, Canberra and Kabul signed a controversial deal to send failed Afghan asylum seekers back.

Hazaras have accused Ghani's government of discriminating against the community, with several large demonstrations held in Kabul last year.

On his first day in Australia on April 3, Ghani signed with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull an aid deal worth $240 million over four years.

The two countries also pledged to cooperate on infrastructure, education, and employment of women and girls, agriculture and water management, training of Afghan civil servants, and anticorruption initiatives.

Based on reporting by AP, ABC Australia, The Guardian