Restore peace, evacuee Sikh MPs tell Taliban

“Conflict and war are going on in Afghanistan for last 40 years and as the Taliban have swept to victory in Afghanistan, the situation will change going further. There is still uncertainty and since the situation was volatile, I had to leave my country, said Afghan Sikh Parliamentarian Narinder Singh Khalsa on Wednesday.

New Delhi: “Conflict and war are going on in Afghanistan for last 40 years and as the Taliban have swept to victory in Afghanistan, the situation will change going further. There is still uncertainty and since the situation was volatile, I had to leave my country, said Afghan Sikh Parliamentarian Narinder Singh Khalsa on Wednesday.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, the Afghan MP said, “I have met the Taliban leaders personally and they assured me that they will safeguard the rights of the Sikh and Hindu minority communities. No matter, whichever government comes to power, we will keep fighting for the rights of our community. We have full rights under the rule of law in Afghanistan. No one can snatch our rights; We are the citizens of Afghanistan and have been staying in Afghanistan for decades. I urge both sides to foster a settlement peacefully and hope that the government is formed in Afghanistan as soon as possible.”

He said that the Taliban never asked them to leave the country and ensured that all the minority communities will be protected. “They assured us that the safety and security of Sikh or Hindu minority is their responsibility,” Singh added.

“I have left behind all my properties, land, job, business and everything in Afghanistan. I hope one day, the situation gets better in Afghanistan and I can return because it is my own country. I love my country. We have witnessed the horrific days of our lives,” an Afghan parliamentarian told ETV Bharat about his experience of the Taliban's brutality.

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Singh said that there are still 150 Afghan Sikhs who are stranded in Afghanistan. Singh was one of the two MPs representing the minority community, in the group of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus evacuated to India.

Elaborating about the rapidly deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, the only female Sikh MP in Afghanistan, Anarkali Kaur Honaryar said, “We never thought we will witness such days in Afghanistan. Many people including media personnel lost their lives. In a country that is left with no government, anything can happen now. The rights of women are under great threat and we don’t know what the future holds for them."

Raising concern over the rights given to the minorities in the Taliban regime, Afghan female MP said, "Although, the Taliban says that nothing would be the same like it was 20 years ago, when women were treated brutally by the Taliban, nothing is certain about that because the US troops are yet to withdraw completely. Once the withdrawal completes- the deadline of which is just days away, we will know what the Taliban will do next."

“I urged the international community to never leave the side of Afghanistan and continue supporting the nation," she added.

The Sikh parliamentarian was among the 168 evacuees, including 23 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus onboard IAF's C-17 Globemaster aircraft that took off from Kabul airport.

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