In the wake of the recent killings of 19 members of the Sikh and Hindu minorities in Jalalabad, the National Sikh Council of Australia held a prayer meeting in the presence of Afghanistan Ambassador H.E. Wahidullah Waissi at the Sikh Mission Centre in Sydney on Wednesday.
Condemning the attack, the council raised concerns over the safety of the remaining Sikh population in Afghanistan with the Ambassador.
Afghan Ambassador H.E. Wahidullah Waissi outside the Austral gurudwara in Sydney. Source: Gurcharan Kahlon
In doing so, they handed over a letter addressed to the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, listing five-point measures that their government can evaluate to secure the safety and settlement of the Sikh minority in Afghanistan.
The proposed measures include suggestions to the Afghan government to maintain a dossier for Sikh casualties, the current place of residence and a record of properties owned by the displaced Sikhs.
A snapshot of the National Sikh Council of Australia's letter to Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani Source: Supplied
The council has also proposed the administration to set up of a committee to ensure maintenance of Sikh gurudwaras and create education opportunities for their children and ensure and value Sikh contribution to the Afghan economy, besides emphasizing on the need for land for cremation grounds.
Reiterating the need for joint efforts, the council in their letter wrote, “Sikhs in Afghanistan need more than our sympathy”.
“Through our collective action we want all people in Afghanistan to live dignified and cohesive and progressive lives. We want Sikhs to be valued members of Afghan family who contribute in Afghan recovery.”
The members also thanked Ambassador Waissi for his initiative to reach out to the Australian Sikh community.
A snapshot of the National Sikh Council's proposed measures to the Afghanistan government Source: Supplied
Meanwhile, Bawa Singh Jagdev, the secretary of the National Sikh Council of Australia also informed SBS Punjabi that the council is planning to write to the Australian Foreign Ministry to urge them to offer asylum to the Afghan Sikhs under the government’s Humanitarian Programme.
Mr Jagdev has appealed to the Sikh community in Australia to come out in full support of the Afghan Sikhs.
The situation of Sikhs and Hindus remain uncertain in Afghanistan where the two communities have long suffered widespread discrimination and security threats from radical Islamic groups who view them as outsiders, forcing many to seek asylum in India.
Ten Sikhs among nineteen killed in Afghanistan blast (Getty Image/ NOORULLAH SHIRZADA / Contributor) Source: Getty Image/ NOORULLAH SHIRZADA
Once flourishing, the Sikh and Hindu population has significantly dwindled in numbers. Today only 1,000 people remain from a population that was a quarter of a million in the 1940s.
