Explosion at Sikh hakim's shop near Kabul's Gurdwara Karte Parwan

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 27

A day after the Taliban regime urged its minority communities to return, claiming to have addressed their security concerns, a bomb reportedly exploded near the main gate of Gurdwara Karte Parwan in Kabul. However, no loss of life was reported.

A month ago, a deadly terror attack was executed by Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) at the gurdwara claiming two lives, including that of a Sikh, and leaving the holy place vandalised.

Puneet Singh Chandok, president of India World Forum, said that the explosion occurred in a shop selling herbal medicines owned by an Afghan-origin Sikh family. “It was an alarming development that the explosion occurred in broad daylight targeting a shop owned by a Sikh ‘hakim’ located in a lane near the gurdwara. Members of Sikh and Hindu community are safe,” he said.

No casualty

The explosion took place in a herbal medicine shop owned by an Afghan-origin Sikh family. Members of the Sikh and Hindu communities are safe. —Puneet Singh Chandok, President, India world forum

A video also went viral in which the owner of the shop, Harjeet Singh, dealing in herbal medicines explained that a “time bomb” was planted at his shop by someone but it exploded only when he was away to have lunch at another place.

He thanked the Almighty for saving his life though he was disheartened at the damage to his shop. “This is what prevails here...what we have been reduced to in Kabul and no one listen to us,” he said.

Religious minorities continue to be the target in Afghanistan. Though many families of minority communities have moved out, it is learnt that there were 167 Sikhs and Hindus when the Taliban took over. They had all applied for e-visas (emergency visas) to exit to India. Five among them do not possess passports. Chandok said that so far, around 109 e-visas have been issued and around 58 applications were still pending.

Condemning the attack, Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney has approached the Ministry of External Affairs to expedite the process of evacuating Sikhs and Hindus living in Afghanistan and issue them e-visas on priority.

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