Batch of Afghan Sikhs to arrive today

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 25

A batch of Afghan Sikhs, including Nidan Singh, who was recently in captivity, is scheduled to arrive here tomorrow afternoon on the basis of travel documents issued by India. The Indian Embassy in Kabul facilitated the movement of 11 nationals and they will be granted long-term visas on arrival, authoritative sources told The Tribune.

Nidan Singh was kidnapped in Paktia province of Afghanistan in June and released from captivity last week. The batch is scheduled to arrive on a private air carrier from Afghanistan, with the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee providing an undertaking to the Centre to take care of their stay and boarding at a gurdwara.

Earlier this week, responding to questions on whether there were any plans to give Afghan Sikhs and Hindu Indian citizenship, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had said the government had been receiving requests from members of these communities to allow them to settle down in India. “Despite the Covid-19 situation, India has been facilitating these requests,” Srivastava said.