Hindu, Sikh bodies draw up list of 262 in Kabul's Karte Parwan Gurudwara

Hindu and Sikh organisations have drawn up a list of 262 people, including 84 women from their communities who have taken shelter at the Karte Parwan Gurudwara in Kabul and urged the Indian government to expedite the process to evacuate them.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa told ET that he has been in touch with the ministry of external affairs (MEA) and has been sharing updates with them every two hours on the situation of the Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have swept to power.

"Apart from those who have stayed there all their lives, nearly 22 people who went there in the last few weeks for some work have also contacted us. Many of them were staying in the airport in the hope that they will get a flight soon, but we have brought them all to the gurudwara to be safe."

The Indian government has said it is in constant touch with the representatives of Afghan Sikh and Hindu communities and will facilitate repatriation to India of those who wish to leave Afghanistan. On Monday, the Taliban visited the Karte Parwan Gurudwara in Kabul and had assured them safety.

“But they took away pistols that we had kept for safety, even some of our watches that they said looked suspicious, but they asked us to go back, we have decided to stay here with our families as the airport is just 40 minutes from here. We have little children with us,'' a person living in the gurudwara, on condition of anonymity said, adding that the community is looking at ways of ensuring everyone reached the airport safely when the flights start.
Many civil society organisations have come forward to extend help in this case.

Parvinder Singh Nanda, director of United Sikhs that provides humanitarian aid to refugees, said members of Sikh and Hindu communities had trekked for hours from places such as Ghazni and Jalalabad across Afghanistan to reach Kabul.

"On their way they have seen much violence. They are all terrified and yet are holding up strong. They are not even thinking of setting foot outside the gurudwara."

From April to September last year, Nanda said, 400 Sikh families left Afghanistan and came off to India, after the attack on a Gurudwara in Kabul. "We have also been in touch with governments in Canada and the US, apart from India, to evacuate them as soon as the flights reopen. All stakeholders have been involved as the situation is dire."

A video released by a group of Sikhs from the gurudwara on Tuesday requested the international Sikh community to come forward and help them get out of the country. "The situation is frightful. You must have seen the visuals from the airport. Even the locals are desperate to get out," a Sikh man is heard speaking in the video.

Vikramjit Sahney, international president of World Punjabi Organisation, told ET that he was also making arrangements for the rehabilitation of the Afghan Hindu and Sikh refugees once they land here.

"Many of them are poor and they are leaving behind their property. We want to make sure they have decent lives and safety when they come here. We will take complete responsibility for their educational, rental and skilling expenses." In the past too, Sahney has carried out evacuation processes for Hindu and Sikh families from Afghanistan, the most recently last year.