CM asks Sushma Swaraj to ensure Afghan Sikhs are safe

uttara@tribuneindia.com

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 18

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday wrote to Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj urging her to advise officials in her ministry and the Indian High Commission in Afghanistan to ensure that the minority Sikhs were safe in the war-torn country.

In his letter, Singh voiced his dismay at the recent Kabul bombings and growing number of terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, saying that the constant strife in the country have left Sikhs vulnerable.

The letter asked Swaraj to “pursue measures” to ensure that violence-hit Sikh families were offered security, relief and rehabilitation.

At least 19 people were killed on July 1 in a suicide bomb that targeted a convoy of Hindus and Sikhs who were on their way to Jalalabad to meet Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. Islamic State, whose footprint is growing in the already strife-torn land, claimed the attack.