Taliban special unit forcibly enters Gurdwara in Kabul, intimidate community members: Reports

NEW DELHI: Heavily armed fighters claiming to be from special unit of Taliban forcibly entered Gurdwara Dashmesh Pita at Karte Parwan in Kabul and intimidated the members of the Sikh community present there, Puneet Singh Chandhok, President of the Indian World Forum, has said. Chandok said he had received distressed calls from the Sikh community in Kabul.

He said around 2 pm today "heavily armed officials claiming to be from Special Unit of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan have forcibly entered the Gurdwara Dashmesh Pita located at Karte Parwan, Kabul". "They have intimidated the community present inside the gurdwara and abused the sanctity of the holy place. They are not only raiding the gurdwara but also the entire premises of the community school attached next to the gurdwara," he said.

Chandok said private security guards of the gurdwara initially prevented them from entering but they were also threatened with dire consequences and also manhandled. "They have also simultaneously raided the erstwhile residence and office of (former) MP Narinder Singh Khalsa located adjacent to the gurdwara. The community has expressed serious concerns and fearing danger to their lives. Around 20 members of the community are present inside the gurdwara," he said.

Chanok urged the Centre to immediately raise the concerns of the Hindu and Sikh communities living in Afghanistan with its counterparts at the highest level. "At the same time, the incumbent regime in Afghanistan should ensure compliance with the UN Charter and well-being of minorities living there. This is a second incident," he said.

Earlier this month, Gurdwara Karte Parwan in Kabul was vandalised by Taliban fighters, according to reports. India had raised its concern over the incident. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said that the incident had raised concerns not just for India but for the world.

He said it is important that the international community continue to insist on the fulfilment of goals outlined in the UN Security Council resolution adopted after the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban in August this year.