Guwahati: At least 38 people, 14 children, and 3 babies are expected to arrive at the airport in New Delhi on Sunday as part of initiatives to evacuate vulnerable minorities from the country.
The Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandak Committee has scheduled a special aircraft number 315 from Amritsar to land at Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport in the nation’s capital at around 4:30 pm today.
They will disembark at the Delhi airport at about 5:30 p.m. after all necessary formalities have been completed. They will then travel to Gurdwara Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji in K Block, New Mahavir Nagar, after arriving.
The Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandak Committee is assisting the exodus of marginalised minorities from the Islamic country in collaboration with the Indian World Forum and the Indian Government.
Following the attack on Kabul’s Gurudwara Karte Parwan, 68 Afghan Hindus and Sikhs have so far arrived. The same airfare is being paid for by SGPC.
On August 3, a commercial flight operated by Kam Air from Kabul brought at least 30 Afghan Sikhs, including children and newborns, to Delhi.
The largest private Afghan airline, Kam Air, evacuated 21 Afghan Sikhs, including a baby, from Kabul to New Delhi on July 14.
Following the regime shift in Kabul, the Indian World Forum organised and assisted the humanitarian evacuation of more than 300 Afghan Hindus and Sikhs.
Approximately 700 Hindus and Sikhs lived in Afghanistan in 2020, but many of them emigrated after the Taliban seized power on August 15, 2021.
Assistance with rehabilitation will be provided by the World Punjabi Organization, headed by Padam Shri Vikramjit Singh Sahney.
43 Hindus and Sikhs are still present in Afghanistan as of this writing, and nine visa requests are still awaiting approval from the Indian government.
There are still four Sri Guru Granth Sahib Saroop in Afghanistan. According to religious procedure, the same could not be transferred to India due to a lack of cooperation from the local Kabul government.
SGPC helps minorities in Afghanistan by covering their travel expenses. Sikhs have recently been the target of a wave of attacks in Afghanistan.
About 50 people were killed when the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) attacked the Karte Parwan Gurdwara in Kabul on June 18 of this year.
15 to 20 militants broke into a Gurdwara in Kabul’s Kart-e-Parwan District in October of last year and bound the guards.
A horrific attack at the Sri Guru Har Rai Sahib Gurudwara in Kabul’s Short Bazaar area in March 2020 resulted in the deaths of 27 Sikhs and the injuries of several others. Terrorists from the Islamic State took credit for the assault.