Desperate to come to India, over 150 Sikhs in Kabul gurdwara counting days since Taliban takeover

Gurnam Singh, president of Gurdwara Karta-E-Parwan, urged the Indian government to step up evacuation efforts for Hindus and Sikhs.

More than 150 Sikhs who were staying in a gurdwara in Kabul that was struck by terrorists on June 18 have been desperately waiting for visas to move to India ever since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, according to a top shrine official.

Gurnam Singh, the president of Gurdwara Karta-E-Parwan who spoke to PTI over phone from the Afghan capital, also urged the Indian government to step up evacuation efforts for Hindus and Sikhs.

India has given e-visas ''on priority" to over 100 Sikhs and Hindus living in Afghanistan following the deadly terror strike on the gurudwara in Kabul on June 18, government sources said on June 19.

Several blasts were reported near the Sikh shrine, in the latest targeting of a place of worship of a minority community in the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. India has slammed the "cowardly attack".

"There are over 150 Afghan Sikhs who have desperately been wanting to come to India ever since the Taliban returned. They even had valid Indian visas but those were suspended after the takeover.

"They are willing to sell their shops in Kabul leaving their livelihoods behind and move permanently. They have been spending sleepless nights and counting days," Gurnam Singh said.

He said Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior Affairs (MOI) officials met them on Sunday and offered support for the repair of the damaged gurudwara.