Afghan Sikh released, Centre thanks Kabul

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 18

India has thanked the Afghanistan Government for the safe return of kidnapped Sikh Nidan Singh Sachdeva and has decided to facilitate the return of Afghan Hindu and Sikh community members facing security threats in Afghanistan to India, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a statement.

There are about 1,000 Sikh and Hindus left in Afghanistan and the sense of insecurity was heightened after their massacre at Gurdwara Guru Har Rai in Kabul in May this year. At that time too, India had offered all possible assistance to the affected families.

Nidan Singh, a leader of the Hindu and Sikh communities of Afghanistan, was kidnapped in Chamkani district of Paktia province on June 22. The MEA said, “We convey our appreciation to the Government of Afghanistan and tribal elders from the area, whose efforts secured the return of Nidan.”