#SaveAfghanSikhs – “We Need to Leave Afghanistan in Next 2-3 Days, Otherwise Our Lives Are in Danger”

KABUL, Afghanistan—On March 25th, a suicide attacker took the lives of 25 Sikhs at a Gurdwara in Kabul. The next day, another bomb detonated outside the funeral location and claimed the life of an Afghan soldier. Since then, many members of the Sikh community have reported that they have received calls from anonymous numbers asking them to leave the country or face dire circumstances.

“The situation here is very volatile and dangerous… We have taken this threat very seriously,” Afghan Sikhs said about the recent threats to their lives, in a letter address to the Indian Government officials. The letter was sent to India’s External Affairs, Internal Affairs as well as to Harsimrat K Badal through Manjinder Singh Sirsa.

“The current situation is that the Afghanistan Government got India to open its airspace to evacuate the Afghan citizens from India. About 2500 of these are being evacuated. Kabul has chartered flights to evacuate its citizens from India. For Sikhs & Hindus who want to leave Afghanistan, this scenario provides an opportunity to board these flights that are going empty to New Delhi,” a message from the Afghan Sikhs reads.

The day after the attack, India’s ambassador to Kabul, Vinay Kumar, visited the Gurdwara Sahib at Kabul and met with the Sikh community leaders, elders, and families of the victims of the terror attack. Kumar promised action before April 1, however, these Afghani Sikh and Hindu families are still awaiting their visas.

“Kabul Community Leaders worked with Vinay Kumar, the Ambassador in Kabul and gave him passport information so they could get travel visas or exit visas to enter India. He assured us that he’ll work on this and confirmed that a response will be given by April 1st, but progress has stalled,” Afghani Sikh stated in their letter.

These Afghan Sikh leaders further mentioned that they are in contact with DSGMC’s Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who has promised to provide assistance during the stay of these Sikhs in India.

“DSGMC has agreed to sponsor our accommodation and expenses during our stay in India and they have generously agreed to provide these resources to us. The count of the Sikhs and Hindu families that need to be evacuated are about 120 families or about 650 people,” the letter reads.