Taliban leader and Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi Monday said that Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, who had left the country, were most welcome to return and restart their businesses, a delegation from the two communities that met him in New Delhi said. The delegation, comprising 13 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, who had moved out of Afghanistan over the past many decades, and are currently living in Delhi and other parts of the world, met Muttaqi at the Afghan Embassy in the national capital. Currently, less than 50 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus in total are residing in Afghanistan to take care of gurdwaras and temples. The delegation raised several demands including the safety of their shrines (gurdwaras and temples) and funds for their repair and maintenance, freeing their personal properties from encroachers, and grant of multiple entry and exit visas from both India and Afghanistan, among others. Speaking to The Indian Express, Guljeet Singh, member, Afghan Minorities Council, who led the delegation, however said “there's no point of return now.” “During the meeting, the Afghan minister said that Sikhs and Hindus were most welcome to return and continue with our businesses left behind but there’s no point of return now. Safety and security of Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan under the Taliban is a major concern. We just want the security and maintenance of our shrines (gurdwaras and temples),” said Guljeet. Guljeet also claimed that in Afghanistan, people who do not follow Islam are considered ‘kaafir’ (infidel). “Our women could not step out of their houses and their lives are nothing short of hell. So, the talks of returning are pointless and impractical,” he said. The primary demands include multiple entry/exit visas for at least 30 people so that they can visit Afghanistan to take care of shrines and return to India to meet their families, Guljeet said. “The point is that Afghan Sikh and Hindus were running flourishing businesses in Kabul and other cities but they were forced to flee. Now, over 90 per cent of our community has re-settled in other countries such as Canada, India, UK, Germany etc… So why would anyone return to Afghanistan where there’s no guarantee of our lives?,” he asked. In addition, he also said the demands include regular repairs and maintenance of gurdwaras and temples and freeing personal properties of Sikhs and Hindus from encroachers. The minister said that Afghanistan was “your own country, your home” and “you can return anytime and resume businesses and shops left behind”, said Harbhajan Singh, the president of Afghan Hindu Sikh Welfare Society. “Par jaan hai to jahaan hai (But our lives matter the most). What will our families do if we are killed there?” Harbhajan Singh added. He said that returning to Afghanistan is impossible and they have only demanded the safety of gurdwaras and temples in their absence. Only around 50 Sikhs and Hindus in total are currently living in Afghanistan and that too just to ensure our shrines and properties are safe,” he said. Just around 15 community members are in Kabul, 10-12 in Jalalabad, and a few others in Ghazni, Harbhajan added. “The Karte Parwan and Guru Har Rai Sahib are the only two gurdwaras currently functional in Kabul and the only one in Jalalabad is Gurdwara Nanak Darbar. The only temple functional is Asamai Mandir in Kabul. Since there’s no sangat left in the country, others are lying closed,” said Harbhajan. “Everyone loves the country they are born in, he said adding that “we have moved on and restarted our lives in other countries,” he said. “It’s not easy to leave your flourishing businesses and flee your home. Now Afghan Sikh and Hindu refugees are easily getting citizenship in India since the Narendra Modi-led government has come. So why would we return? We will just visit to see that our shrines and properties are safe. In the past some months, Taliban has helped us in freeing several of our properties back in Afghanistan from encroachers. The minister has assured that they will take care in future too,” said Harbhajan. Another delegation member, Partap Singh, also said, “We have also demanded adequate security to reopen gurdwaras and temples lying closed in Afghanistan and just want regular prayers to be held there even in our absence.” “The minister today said ‘aapka desh hai, waapis aao aap’ but we have moved on,” Partap said. The mass exodus of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus from their homeland Afghanistan primarily triggered in 1992 following the rise of the Mujahideen, after the fall of the Soviet-backed government. This exodus was a result of escalating persecution including violence, kidnappings, extortions and women-related crimes targeting minorities, leading to the community’s numbers dwindling significantly. The situation worsened under the subsequent Taliban regimes (1996 to 2001) and thereafter in 2021, when on August 15 the Taliban took over Afghanistan. The remaining Sikhs and Hindus also fled the Muslim majority country and are now settled in several countries including Canada, UK, India, Sweden and Germany.
