Living in fear, Afghan Sikhs, Hindus seek safety in India

New Delhi: The terror has returned, but this time it is primarily affecting the Sikh and Hindu minorities in Afghanistan, not the Afghan nationals. Sikhs and Hindus, who make up the majority of Afghan minorities, are in a desperate attempt to leave Afghanistan and find safety in India.
“Women and children are often accompanied by a male companion, children are waiting to receive their education. Most of the minorities living here are waiting for their e-visas and once we get the visas, we won’t be staying here; it is not safe anymore,” a person, living in Afghanistan, on the condition of anonymity, told The Sunday Guardian.
Most of the Afghan minority residents in Afghanistan are not willing to speak about their fear openly in the media. As per several reports, around 250 Sikhs and Hindus are presently staying in Afghanistan. While some have received their e-visas, some are still waiting for it.
The Sunday Guardian has received a list of 50 people who are still waiting for their e-visas. Speaking about facilitating their e-visas, national spokesperson of BJP R.P. Singh told this correspondent, “Individual shops have been targeted this time. We have requested the Home Minister to begin granting e-visas to the individuals living there.”
Asked why most minority people are unwilling to speak about their fear and issues, Ram Saran Bhasin, president of the Afghan Hindu Sikh Minority Council, told this paper, “Taliban have a strong intelligence agency. People are always in fear that if they are vocal about their issues, they may be targeted.”
On 27 July, a bomb went off in Kabul close to the main gate of Karte Parwan Gurudwara. Speaking about the incident in detail, Puneet Singh Chandok, President of the Indian World Forum told this paper, “We do not who is investigating, but the video clearly shows that the bomb blast took place in the shop close to the Gurudwara, no one is hurt though. There are some people waiting for e-visas since the Government of India has certain protocols so they are taking their time to grant e-visas.”
The blast on Wednesday sparked fear amongst the Hindu and Sikh minorities in Afghanistan. The viral video of the shop, where the attack took place, showed shattered counters. Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha member Vikram Sahney condemned the bomb attack. He claimed that even after the Taliban administration assured safety to 135 Sikhs in Afghanistan, such incidents are still happening.
Earlier in June, two person, including a Sikh, were killed when terrorists opened fire indiscriminately inside the Gurdwara Kart-e-Parwan. As a result, many Sikhs and Hindus emigrated from Afghanistan to India.