NEW DELHI: A group of Sikhs from Afghanistan arrived in India on Thursday with the ashes of a community member who was killed in the attack on gurudwara Karte Parwan in Kabul 10 days back.
Victim Sawinder Singh ran a paan shop in Kabul and lived in the gurdwara, while his family lives in Delhi.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) made arrangements for the transfer of the 11 Afghan Sikhs in coordination with the Indian World Forum and the Indian government. The Indian government has issued 111 emergency e-visas for Sikhs to travel to India. It is learnt that there are around 150 Sikhs and Hindus living in Afghanistan at present.
“Eleven Afghan Sikhs arrived at the Delhi airport with the ashes of Sawinder Singh. Raqbir Singh, who was injured in the attack, is also part of this group,” a representative of the Indian World Forum said. After their arrival in a special aircraft on Thursday, they were taken to Gurudwara Arjan Dev in Delhi.
Special flight from Afghanistan
“Eleven Afghan Sikhs arrived here on Thursday. Our team was there at the airport to receive them. Their special flight landed at 1 pm, after which they were taken to Gurdwara Guru Arjan Dev in Tilak Nagar,” community leader Chaibal Singh said.