On March 25, an ISIS-Khorasan suicide bomber attacked a gurdwara in Kabul, killing 25 Sikhs
Washington:
An influential American congressman has praised India for giving refugee standing to Sikhs and Hindus from Afghanistan and urged the Trump administration to do the identical for the persecuted spiritual minorities from the war-torn nation.
The Ministry of Exterior Affairs mentioned on Thursday that there was a current spurt of assaults on Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan by terrorists on the behest of their “exterior supporters” and India has been offering mandatory visas to members of those communities who wish to come.
“We now have been receiving requests from the members of those communities. They wish to transfer to India, they wish to quiet down right here, and regardless of the continuing COVID state of affairs, we’re facilitating these requests,” MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava mentioned.
He mentioned as soon as those that wish to come and settle in India arrive within the nation, their requests shall be examined and acted upon primarily based on present guidelines and insurance policies.
Responding to India’s transfer, Congressman Jim Costa mentioned in a tweet, “This marks an necessary step towards defending Afghanistan’s Sikh and Hindu communities from imminent destruction by the hands of terrorists.”
“Whereas I am happy that India has supplied them refuge, extra must be carried out to make sure their security in the long run. I’ll proceed to advocate for extra everlasting options that can present these households with safety, financial stability, and a brighter future,” Mr Costa mentioned as he referred to a information story from The New York Occasions.
In April the lawmaker had written a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo searching for comparable refugee standing for Hindus and Sikhs from Afghanistan.
“In April, I wrote to Secretary of State Pompeo urging him to offer assist to those households and consideration for potential resettlement within the US,” Mr Costa tweeted.
In its information story, The New York Occasions reported the assertion of Ministry of Exterior Affairs that India has determined to facilitate the return to India of Afghan Hindu and Sikh neighborhood members going through safety threats in Afghanistan.
In accordance with the day by day, the Hindu and Sikh communities in Afghanistan as soon as numbered within the tens, if not the lots of, of hundreds, with well-established companies and high-ranking positions within the authorities. However almost all have fled to India, Europe, or North America over a long time of conflict and persecution.
Final month, a bipartisan group of 20 US senators urged the Trump administration to grant emergency refugee safety to Sikh and Hindu communities in Afghanistan going through persecution as spiritual minorities.
“Sikh and Hindu communities in Afghanistan face an existential risk from ISIS-Ok due to their faith. To guard spiritual freedom, we urgently ask that you just take these important steps to defend these threatened spiritual minorities,” they mentioned within the letter.
The Sikhs and Hindus as soon as numbered round 250,000, however now fewer than 1,000 folks reside in Afghanistan attributable to a long time of persecution, they added, the senators wrote.
A closely armed ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-Ok) suicide bomber attacked a gurdwara within the coronary heart of Afghanistan’s capital on March 25, killing 25 Sikhs and injuring eight others.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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