Tribune News Service
New Delhi, October 10 2001
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) today offered to
fund the passage of Sikh families stranded in Afghanistan and urged
the Centre to seek the help of the Pakistan Embassy in getting them
evacuated from the war-ravaged country.
In identical letters to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and
External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, SGPC President Jagdev Singh
Talwandi said there were reports that a good number of Sikh men, along
with women and children were stranded in the Sikh shrines in
Afghanistan.
He pointed out that some of the women may not be having passports or
other documents with them as the Taliban regime had put severe
restrictions on them. “It is apprehended that these people, if not
rescued, might be massacred or used as hostage or human shield,” he
added.
He suggested that the government could seek the help of the Pakistan
Embassy to help evacuate the Sikhs in Afghanistan to Gurdwara Panja
Sahib (Hassan Abdal) in Pakistan and subsequently to India.
Mr Talwandi said the SGPC would bear all expenses in this regard. The
SGPC also authorised the Vice-Chairman of the Minorities Commission,
Mr Tarlochan Singh to liaise with the government for this purpose. The
letter has already approached the government to take urgent steps to
help the Sikh families stranded in Afghanistan.
According to Mr Tarlochan Singh, there were around 1500 Sikhs in
Afghanistan and around 100 of them had fled to Peshawar in Pakistan.
He said several Sikhs wanted to come to India but the strict
documentation process in India made their travel difficult. So far
only two Sikhs have managed to come to India by train at the Attari
border.
Mr Tarlochan Singh said the Home Ministry, which controls the arrival
of passengers from Pakistan, should coordinate with the Ministry of
External Affairs to ensure smooth passage for genuine stranded
families of Indian origin.