Hyderabad: Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday condemned the attacks on religious minorities in Afghanistan and urged the Indian government to evacuate all those who wish to leave the war-torn country and ensure their rehabilitation.
Taking to Twitter, Singh said, "strongly condemn the persecution of religious minorities by Taliban ruled Afghan government. Urge GOI to immediately evacuate all those who wish to leave & ensure their rehabilitation @MEAIndia."
Along with the tweet, he also attached a news article by news agency ANI titled 'Afghanistan's Sikhs to make choice between converting to Islam or leaving country: Report'.
The report said that as the security scenario in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate, Sikhs -- a community that was already in a dire situation before the collapse of the government -- practically have to make a choice between options of "converting to Sunni Islam or run away" from Afghanistan. The community, which once numbered in the tens of thousands, has been ruined and devastated by years of emigration and death, driven by both systemic discrimination and an uptick in fanatical religious violence in Afghanistan, the news agency reported citing International Forum For Rights and Security (IFFRAS).
According to reports, a large number of Sikhs live in Kabul while some in the provinces of Ghazni and Nangarhar. Sikhs have been living in Afghanistan for centuries but for decades even the Afghan government has failed to provide Sikhs adequate housing or reinstate their homes, which has been illegally occupied by their powerful neighbours or warlords during the 1990s. After the recent massacre of the Sikhs by the Taliban in a Gurdwara in Kabul on March 26, 2020, most Afghan Sikhs were leaving for India, said IFFRAS.
Singh's statement comes in the wake of recent attacks on Sikhs in Afghanistan. On October 5, a group of heavily armed Taliban entered Gurdwara Karte Parwan in Kabul and vandalized the holy shrine and took several people under their custody.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had condemned the vandalisation of the gurdwara and said it raises concerns not just for India but for the world. "Obviously it raised concerns not just for us, but I suppose across the world. It is important that the international community continue to insist on the fulfillment of goals outlined in the UN Security Council resolution," MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a statement.
