India To Provide Shelter To 700 Afghan Sikhs, Hindus Who Faced Terror Threats In Home Nation

The Amit Shah led Home Ministry has approved long term visas to 700 Sikhs and Hindus from Afghanistan in a move which is usually reserved for persecuted minorities from the region, Aditya Raj Kaul reports in The Quint.

Preparations are now underway to fulfil the necessary formalities and the Afghan minorities are expected to arrive in India before 15 August.

"To begin with, over 700 such individuals have been identified and the required formalities are underway to bring them to India before 15 August", a government official was quoted as saying.

As per the report, 600 Sikhs had applied for long term visas to India after the dastardly terror attack on a religious gathering at a Gurudwara in the heart of Kabul on 25 March. Over 25 Sikh men, women and children were killed.

Many members of the Sikh community are currently seeking refuge in the Kabul Gurudwara after fearing for their safety. The targeting of the community though has continued after a Sikh man was abducted in June while he was going to a Gurudwara to perform sewa.

He was subsequently rescued from the Haqqani network by Afghani forces.

The Afghani Sikhs and Hindus who will now arrive in India include those who have been facing security threats. Many of their relatives are already settled in India.