Group of eleven Afghan Sikhs departs for India

KABUL (Khaama Press): Following a terrorist attack on a Sikh temple in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, eleven members of the Afghan Sikh community who were issued short-term visas by the Indian Embassy in Kabul will depart for India on Thursday.
According to reports in the Indian media, a group of 11 members of the Afghan Sikh community will land in India today, June 30.
On June 18, militants attacked a Sikh temple in Kabul, leaving at least two people dead and seven more wounded.
The assault started early on Saturday, June 18, in Kabul’s Karte Parwan neighborhood, and it lasted for many hours as Taliban forces and assailants engaged in battle.
Following the tragedy at the sacred site of the Sikh congregation in Kabul, India decided to grant e-visas to more than 100 Sikhs and Hindus living in Afghanistan.
The relocation of the Afghan Sikh minority was to be handled by a Sikh committee in India and the Indian World Forum, which also offer financial support to people looking for rehabilitation in India.
On Sunday, another batch of 11 Afghan Sikhs was transferred to India.
The Sikh and Hindu minority in Afghanistan, which formerly numbered close to 250,000 people, has been subjected to years of discrimination and violence; as a result, it is now thought to only include less than 100 families nationwide.