Afghan Sikhs and Hindus among 78 flown back to India
INDIA on Tuesday (24) brought back 78 people, including 25 of its nationals and a number of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus from Dushanbe, a day after they were evacuated from Taliban-besieged Kabul to the Tajik city.
The group travelled from Kabul to Dushanbe by an Indian Air Force military aircraft on Monday (23).
On board were also three copies of the Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib.
With Tuesday’s evacuation, the number of people brought back to Delhi reached more than 800 since August 16 when the first group was airlifted from Kabul, a day after the Taliban seized control of the Afghan capital city.
The evacuees were received at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport by federal ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and V Muraleedharan.
“Blessed to receive & pay obeisance to three holy Swaroop of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji from Kabul to Delhi a short while ago,” Puri said on Twitter.
Nearly 200 more Afghan Sikhs and Hindus are still stranded in Afghanistan. They have taken shelter at Kabul’s Karte Parwan gurdwara, close to the airport, according to Puneet Singh Chandhok, president of the Indian World Forum, an organisation coordinating the evacuation efforts with India’s Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Air Force.
According to people sheltered in the gurdwara, the 10-km drive to the international airport through various checkpoints is one of the biggest challenges.
India has stepped up efforts to evacuate its citizens as well as its Afghan partners from Kabul. Last Sunday (22), India evacuated 392 people including two Afghan lawmakers in three different flights under the evacuation mission.