The recent killing of Sikhs in Kabul has terrified the minority communities in Afghanistan again. The attack on a Gurudwara in Kabul on March 25 that killed at least 25 people, mostly members of Afghanistan’s persecuted Sikh minority, is a barefaced attempt by the Islamic State (IS) to revive its fortunes in the country at a time when it is politically divided and the peace process is hamstrung by the Taliban’s continuing violence and a message to the Afghan authorities that it remains a potent security threat. Here is an in-depth analysis of the incident and the status of Sikhs and other minorities in Afghanistan by Shri VK Gaur, a former IG, BSF and a known expert on security and strategic affairs. - Onkareshwar Pandey, Editor in Chief, Indian Observer post.
By V K Gaur
On March 25, 2020, Gunmen and suicide bombers raided a Sikh religious complex in the Afghan capital of Kabul, killing 25 people before security forces killed all of the attackers, reports Daily Times.
Afghanistan is, of course, no stranger to violence, but the killings demonstrate that unless various contenders for power in the country get their act together, IS, Al Quida and other splinter extremist groups will exploit the absence of unified of leadership in Afghanistan. IS has claimed the responsibility for the savage act.
In an editorial comment, the DT says,” While the self-proclaimed caliphate has largely been routed in Syria and Iraq — where it initially emerged — it is now trying to establish itself in other ungoverned spaces, and Afghanistan offers a prime location unless a workable peace deal takes effect and all parties abide by it.”
In Afghanistan, there is feud between the aspirants of power. Both Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah blocs, as well as the Afghan government and the Taliban — IS and other militant groups that do not believe in the political process. It will be free for violence. A lasting peace agreement between various Afghan factions is essential.
Mr Ghani was declared the winner of last September’s presidential election, his chief rival Mr Abdullah dismissed the results and has proclaimed himself the leader of the country.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently visited Kabul to work out a compromise between the two factions, but his attempts proved futile.
Mike announced a cut of $1bn in aid to cash-strapped Afghanistan as ‘punishment’. Under such situation minority communities of Indian linkage are bound to feel unsafe.
Gunmen and suicide bombers have killed at least 25 worshippers, including women and children, and injured many others in an early morning attack on a Sikh Gurudwara in the heart of Kabul.
The attack lasted hours as the gunmen held hostages on 25 March (Wednesday) while Afghan Special Forces and international troops tried to end the siege in a complex that is home to many families, as well as a place of worship.
Now, a welfare society for Afghan Sikhs urged the Central government on Thursday to bring to India those injured in the Gurudwara attack in Kabul and also facilitate the homecoming of the Sikhs living there as they were undergoing trauma. Khajinder Khurana, president of the Afghan Hindu-Sikh Welfare Society, said the attack was against humanity.
Narender Singh Khalsa, a member of parliament who represents the Sikh community, told Reuters that there were three attackers, who arrived when the buildings were full of worshippers. Islamic State, which has targeted Sikhs in Afghanistan before, said it carried out the attack.
Up to 200 people were trapped inside the Gurudwara when the attack began at about 7am, interrupting worship that had started an hour earlier. The attackers reportedly threw grenades, and after bursting into the complex, started shooting indiscriminately.
The attack was condemned internationally and across much of Afghan society.
Afghanistan’s tiny Sikh community is one of few religious minorities in the country, protected by law but frequently targeted by extremists and subject to discrimination.
Thirty years ago Sikhs were 500,000 strong, but after decades of conflict and the rise of the Taliban – who ordered Sikhs to wear yellow armbands – many migrated and sought asylum in India. The Sikh community is now reduced to about 700.
In 2018 a convoy of Sikhs and Hindus traveling to meet the president, Ashraf Ghani, was targeted by an Islamic suicide bomber. The massacre on Wednesday was the second ISIS attack on a religious minority in March; a gathering of the predominantly Shia Hazara ethnic minority was also attacked earlier on March 20. More than 30 people were killed.
There are fears that a coronavirus outbreak could be gathering force, as tens of thousands of Afghans have returned from badly hit Iran this year without any quarantine or testing. It could shake health system of Afghanistan. The UN has called for a ceasefire to help prepare for the looming crisis.
Sikhs in Afghanistan are primarily based in major cities, with the largest numbers of Afghan Sikhs living in Jalalabad, Ghazani, Kabul, and to a lesser extent Kandahar.
These Sikhs are Afghan nationals who speak Dari, Hindi and in their native Punjabi.Their total population is around 70 to 80 families who are left in all over Afghanistan, which makes the population no more than 700.
There were over 20,000 Sikhs in Kabul in the 1980s, but after the start of the Civil War in 1992, most had fled. Seven of Kabul's eight Gurudwaras were destroyed during the civil war. Only Gurduwara Karte Parwan, located in the Karte Parwan section of Kabul, remains. They are centred today in Karte Parwan and some parts of the old city.
The older of the Gurudwaras was built to commemorate the visit of Guru Nanak Dev. On July 1, 2018, at least 10 Sikhs were killed in a targeted suicide bombing at the PD1 market. The local branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility.
Some early Khatri Sikhs established and maintained colonies in Afghanistan for trading purposes. Sikhs also served in the British Empire's military during several operations in Afghanistan in the 19th century.