Due to frequent attacks on the minority Sikh and Hindu communities in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Home Affairs in India has decided to give visas to 700 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, reported The Quint. A top official from the Government of India, said, “Ministry of Home Affairs has given its approval for providing a long term visa to Afghan Sikhs and Hindus which we usually give to persecuted minorities from the region”.
On 25 March, 25 Sikh men, women, and children were brutally killed by Islamists when they carried out a terror attack in Kabul’s Hari Rai Sahib Gurudwara.
The attack was reportedly carried out by the dreaded Haqqani network and has ties to the Pakistans army which considers them as a strategic asset. After the attack, India has received 600 applications made by members of the Sikh community that have been pending before the Indian Embassy in Kabul, which in turn, had been waiting for approval from the Government of India.
At present, the community is within the confines of the Gurudwara of Kabul but it has been a struggle to survive within the four walls and the threat of attacks still looms large. Due to the Wuhan virus pandemic, the Indian government has delayed processing the request for asylum for Hindu and Sikh minorities of Afghanistan.