AMBALA: The Taliban has allowed Afghan Hindus and Sikhs to visit India on pilgrimage, provided they have valid passports and visas, India World Forum (IWF) president Puneet Singh Chandok said on Monday evening. “While speaking to an Afghan media channel, Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson of the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan, has confirmed that the Taliban has no problem with Afghan Sikhs and Hindus going to India if they have valid passports and visas,” he said.
Meanwhile, most Afghan Sikhs and Hindus who had taken shelter at Gurdwara Dashmesh Pita, Karta-E-Parwan, near Kabul for the last two weeks have returned to their hometowns in Afghanistan and started opening their businesses. However, a few families are still staying at the gurdwara.
A Kabul-based Sikh, who runs a cosmetics shop, said, “Nearly 40 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus run shops and businesses in Kabul. My brother has a wholesale business of medicines with Indian pharmaceutical companies and is back at work. Taliban commanders have assured us safety and asked us to start work as per routine.”
An Afghan Hindu said they have opened shops, but there was hardly any work. “We sit for some hours and return home as there are few customers. People are also afraid to coming out of their homes,” he said. An owner of a cosmetics shop said “work could start gaining pace with time.”
Earlier in the day, Chandok said he had independently opened negotiations with the Taliban on Saturday, through its representative Bilal Karimi, who is an official assistant of Mujahid. “We requested the Taliban to facilitate Afghan Sikhs and Hindus for pilgrimage to India and Indians back to their country. Karimi assured to protect the rights of religious minorities while saying that Sikhs are part of their culture and their hum-vatan (fellow countrymen),” he said.
Chandok said India’s ministry of external affairs was also in contact touch with heads of gurdwaras in Afghanistan. “As of now, the evacuation process from Kabul airport has been stopped and it is not feasible due to security concerns. India is ready to bring Afghan Sikhs and Hindus along with Indian residents, but it is waiting for the situation to normalise. There are a lot of Indians who are stranded in Kabul,” said Chandok.
DSGMC leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa tweeted on Monday that people who were taking shelter at the gurdwara have returned to their homes.
Sirsa tweeted: “Afghanistan update: I had a talk with Gurnam Singh, pradhan of Kabul Gurdwara Committee, today who apprised me that people taking refuge in Gurdwara Karte Parwan have dispersed back to their homes in wake of recent attacks in Kabul. Eight people (2 families) went back to Ghazni, 60 people went back to Jalalabad, and two families are still there.
Yesterday, the commander of Taliban came to meet them in gurdwara sahib. These families told Taliban of their desire to visit India to be part of Guru Teg Bahadur’s 400th Parkash Purab celebrations. The commanders assured them of taking this matter up with their high command.”
