Sikhs, Hindus integral part of Afghanistan, says Karzai

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 21

Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai paid tributes to the martyrs at Jallianwala Bagh here today. He had paid obeisance at the Golden Temple last evening.

On the current situation in Afghanistan, especially with regard to the minorities, he said, “Our Sikhs and Hindus are, like the rest of the Afghan people, sons of the soil. They have also suffered along with other compatriots. I hope peace prevails so that all Afghans, including Sikhs and Hindus, lead a life of happiness and prosperity.”

Later, he took a tour of the galleries at the Partition Museum. Museum manager Rajwinder Kaur said he read about the freedom movement and the Boundary Commission in the Gallery of Division. “In the Gallery of Refuge, he looked at the objects which refugees had brought with them during Partition,” she said. He wrote a note on the Tree of Hope, saying that “for the people of South Asia, let’s hope that the Partition Museum becomes a museum of unity and prosperity.”