A group of Afghan Sikhs is coming to India on Thursday with the ashes of Sawinder Singh, who was killed in an attack on a gurdwara in Kabul earlier this month, news agency PTI reported, quoting people coordinating with the Indian government for their transfer.
On June 19, the Government of India had granted emergency e-visas to 111 Hindus and Sikhs from Afghanistan, hours after a terrorist group attacked Gurdwara Dashmesh Pita Guru Gobind Singh Karte Parwan in Kabul on June 18, killing two persons, including Sawinder Singh.
Sawinder, who ran a “paan” shop in Kabul, lived in the gurdwara, while his family is in Delhi.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has made arrangements for the transfer of the 11-member group of Afghan Sikhs, in coordination with the Indian World Forum and the Government of India, the PTI report said.
“Eleven Afghan Sikhs will arrive at the Delhi airport with the ashes of Sawinder Singh. Raqbir Singh, who was injured in the attack, is also part of this group,” a representative of the Indian World Forum was quoted as saying.
The group will leave for Gurdwara Guru Arjan Dev in Delhi’s Tilak Nagar after arriving in India, the report said.
#WATCH | 11 Afghan Sikhs to reach Delhi from Kabul today. Ashes of late Sawinder Singh, who was killed in a gurudwara attack in Kabul will also arrive with the group
Transfer of Afghan minorities to India is being facilitated by SGPC in coordination with Indian World Forum & GoI pic.twitter.com/UOK1YtTNzg
– ANI (@ANI) June 30, 2022
The SGPC, which bore the group’s travel expenses, will also financially help those seeking rehabilitation in India, according to the PTI report.
While hundreds of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus were evacuated in batches after the attack on Gurdwara Har Rai Sahib in Kabul in March 2020, around 150 of them are still in Afghanistan, according to reports. After the June 18 attack, India issued 111 e-visas for their evacuation to Delhi.
The Karte Parwan gurdwara is one of the main gurdwaras in Kabul, where unidentified gunmen opened fire on Saturday, June 18, killing two persons and injuring at least three. It was reported that nearly 25-30 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus had gathered at the gurdwara for morning prayers when they came under the attack, which happened weeks after an Indian government delegation made its first official visit to Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in August last year