Sikh refugees evacuated from Afghanistan to India recall Taliban horror

An evacuation flight carrying people from the Sikh minority in Afghanistan — who are fleeing the Taliban rule — arrived in India Sunday.

Upon arrival, one of them expressed happiness for having fled the country, which plunged into a crisis after the Taliban returned to power last year, overthrowing the Ashraf Ghani-led government.

Talking to news agency ANI, Baljeet Singh spoke of the conditions in the country, and said he had been imprisoned by the Taliban for four months. “The condition is not very well in Afghanistan. I was imprisoned for four months. The Taliban have cheated us, they cut our hair in prison. I am thankful and happy to return to India,” he said.

Fifty-five Afghan Sikhs arrived in a special flight which landed at Delhi airport Sunday, as a part of the government’s efforts to evacuate the distressed minorities in the Taliban-led nation. The flight was organised by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandak Committee, Amritsar, in coordination with the Indian World Forum and the Centre to evacuate these Afghan minorities, said ANI.

Another refugee thanked the government for providing urgent e-visas and safely evacuating them.

“We would like to thank the Indian government to give us urgent visas and help us to reach India. Many of us still have families left behind as around 30-35 people are left stranded in Afghanistan,” Sukhbeer Singh Khalsa said.

On July 14, a total of 21 Afghan Sikhs, including an infant, were evacuated from Kabul to New Delhi on Kam Air, the largest private Afghan airline.

About 700 Hindus and Sikhs were reported to be in Afghanistan in 2020, but a large number of them left the country following the Taliban’s takeover on August 15, 2021.

There has been a reported rise in a series of attacks on the Sikhs since the Taliban took over Afghanistan.

On June 18, the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) attacked Karte Parwan Gurdwara in Kabul which claimed the lives of about 50 people. In October, last year 15 to 20 terrorists entered a Gurdwara in the Kart-e-Parwan District of Kabul and tied up the guards.