New Delhi: A prominent Afghan Sikh politician has returned to the war-struck country, nearly three years after he was evacuated by the Indian government in the immediate aftermath of the Taliban takeover.
The announcement about Narender Singh Khalsa’s return to Kabul was made by the Taliban government’s “Contact Commission on Liaison with Afghan Personalities” on Tuesday (April 9).
The seven-member commission had been set up by the Taliban government in 2022 to facilitate the “return” of Afghan political leaders who had left after the insurgent group had swept into Kabul on August 15, 2021.
“Narender Singh Khalsa, a member of the Wolesi Jirga in the last administration, from the constituency of Hindus and Sikhs, returned to his country from Canada through the Contact Commission with Afghan personalities,” posted the Commission’s X (formerly Twitter) account.
په تېره اداره کې د اهل هنودو او سیکاهانو له حوزې څخه د ولسي جرګې وکیل نرندر سنګ خالصه د افغان شخصیتونو سره د تماس کمېسیون له لارې، له کاناډا څخه خپل هېواد ته راستون شو. pic.twitter.com/sVGQM6YVYA
Advertisement— افغان شخصیتونو سره د ارتباط کمیسیون (@CCAfghanP) April 9, 2024
Khalsa had been elected to a reserved seat for Hindus and Sikhs in the lower house of Afghanistan’s parliament, the Wolesi Jirga, in 2019.
The Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, who were once around 220,000 strong in the 1980s, had dwindled to just around a few hundred.
The former MP was among a group of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus who were brought to India by the Union government as part of its evacuation operations after the fall of the Islamic Republic and the return of the Taliban in August 2021.
Khalsa was quoted by ANI news agency as having broken down in tears on his arrival in Delhi.
“I feel like crying … Everything that was built in the last 20 years is now finished. It’s zero now,” he said.
He had also thanked the Indian prime minister for bringing him to the country.
He was one of two Afghan Sikh parliamentarians who were evacuated to India. The other was Anarkali Kaur Honaryar, the only female Afghan Sikh MP.
Both did not remain in India, but sought asylum in Western nations, with Honaryar choosing France and Khalsa opting for Canada.
Although the reason for Khalsa’s return to Afghanistan is unconfirmed, it is presumed that it is part of the Taliban’s widely-publicised policy to “restore” the private property of Afghan Hindus and Sikhs.
As per sources, it is part of the image building effort of the Taliban government to show that it is a “responsible nation”. It is also an indication, as per official sources, that the Taliban is positive towards India.
India doesn’t recognise the Taliban regime, in line with the rest of the international community.
However, it has stepped up its engagement with the Taliban, especially with Indian diplomats stationed in the Indian embassy in Kabul since August 2022.
The Taliban government’s deteriorating ties with Pakistan, particularly over the presence of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan on Afghan soil, has also created strategic space for India to encourage more interaction at different levels.
