Over 250 Afghan Sikhs, Hindus want safe passage to West

KABUL : More than 250 Afghans belonging to a minority communities of Sikh and Hindu, who have connections in India, have been holed up in a Sikh shrine just seven km from the international airport in Kabul and are desperately awaiting their evacuation to a Western nation.

For them India is not the preferred destination as a refugee. The reason: they believe it took years and years to procure the Indian citizenship. Also, there is too much red tapism while procuring government documents like a passport and an Aadhaar card. They are praying to enter a Western nation as a refugee where they are hoping to live a dignified life. They comprise dozens of women and children.

"We understand their urgency at this point in time. Our volunteers are working with a team of ex-military contractors and the US State Department to help 250-270 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus find their way safely to the international airport in Kabul," US-based global humanitarian non-profit organization United Sikh's International Humanitarian Aid Director Gurvinder Singh told IANS over phone.

He said many of them took refuge in the Karte Parwan gurdwara after the country fell into the hands of the Taliban.

"Most of them belong to middle-class families and they were doing small-time business in Kabul. Even the Taliban assured them that they won't be harmed and they will play a crucial role in the recovery of war-torn Afghanistan," he said.

"But all of them were desperately awaiting their evacuation from the country well ahead of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan (on August 31). After that there might be potential attacks by Islamic State terror group," he said.

"We are providing them emergency humanitarian aid, besides international protection and intervention for the families. This is vital for their secure and permanent resettlement. We are on the job to evacuate them by August 31," said an optimistic Gurvinder Singh, 38, who is based in Texas. "They can be evacuated either to Canada or the US or the UK or Australia or New Zealand. We are in constant touch with all these countries. Our first priority is to ensure safe passage to them from the gurdwara to the airport that is just seven km away," he said. (IANS)

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