Kabul Attack: Visas for Afghan Hindus and Sikhs

New Delhi decided to issue e-visas to Afghan Sikhs and Hindus on priority soon after ISKP claimed responsibility for the terror attack on the gurdwara

Alarmed by the Islamic State’s attack on a gurdwara in Kabul in response to a comment by two leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, New Delhi has decided to issue visas to over 100 Sikh and Hindu citizens of Afghanistan on priority to facilitate their early travel to India.

New Delhi decided to issue e-visas to Afghan Sikhs and Hindus on priority soon after Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) claimed responsibility for the terror attack on the gurdwara at Karte Parwan in Kabul on Saturday.

A large number of minority Sikhs and Hindus of Afghanistan left the country after the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul in August 2021. Most of the Afghan Hindus and Sikhs escaped to India. A source in New Delhi said that about 200 Hindus and Sikhs were still living in Afghanistan and many of them had applied for visas to travel to India.

Also Read: Islamic State terror group claims attack on Sikh gurdwara in Kabul

An Afghan Sikh was killed in the attack on the gurdwara on Saturday. A soldier of the security force of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan was also killed in the exchange of fire with the attackers, who all were gunned down eventually.

The Islamic State’s regional affiliate stated on its website that the attack on the gurdwara in the capital of Afghanistan was carried out in response to the insulting comments about Prophet Muhammad made by the politicians in India.

It apparently referred to the comments made by Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal, the two leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of India about the Prophet last month. The comments had triggered outrage across West, South and South-East Asia earlier this month, with the governments of the many nations formally condemning the comments and conveying displeasure to New Delhi, which, however, had made it clear that the remarks made by the “fringe elements” had not reflected the views of the Government of India. The BJP had also suspended Sharma and expelled Jindal.

Also Read: India expresses deep concern over 'cowardly' attack on gurdwara in Kabul

Al Qaeda and the Islamic State had recently threatened terror attacks to avenge the insulting remarks made by Sharma and Jindal.

The shrines of the minority Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan are seen as symbols of India’s historic links with the war-torn country.

The ISKP had in 2020 carried out an attack on another gurdwara in Kabul, killing 20 Sikhs.

New Delhi had evacuated some Afghan Hindus and Sikhs from Afghanistan after the Taliban in August 2021 returned to power in the conflict-ravaged country, taking advantage of the withdrawal of the US-led NATO forces.

A group of Afghan Sikhs also brought the holy scripture Guru Granth Sahib from a gurdwara in Afghanistan to India in August 2021.

The attack on the gurdwara came just about a fortnight after New Delhi sent a delegation to Kabul for its first formal engagement with the Taliban’s government in the war-torn country.