PM Modi meets members of Afghan Sikh, Hindu communities

New Delhi, Feb 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Afghan Sikh and Hindu community leaders who fled fearing Taliban persecution on Saturday. The community members have been facing crisis since the Taliban took over the country in mid-August last year.

The Afghan Sikh and Hindu community leaders honoured the Prime Minister and thanked him for bringing Sikhs and Hindus safely to India from Afghanistan," the PMO said in a statement.

"In this light, he also talked about the significance of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and its benefits for the community. He assured them of continuous support in future as well to resolve all issues and difficulties faced by them," it added.

"PM talked about significance of tradition of honouring Guru Granth Sahib,in light of which spl arrangements were made to bring back Swaroop of Guru Granth Sahib from Afghanistan.He talked about the immense love he received from Afghans over the years and recalled his visit to Kabul," the PMO said.

A large number of Afghan Hindus and Sikhs have been living in India, and the Indian government recently evacuated many of them following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

The Modi government has often asserted its commitment to the minorities of Afghanistan who have faced religious persecution, especially from the Talibans.

The development comes a day after PM Modi hosted prominent Sikhs from across the country at his residence in the national capital on Friday.

"I was kidnapped by the Taliban from a gurudwara. They thought of us as Indian spies, wanted us to convert... We thanked PM Modi & are happy with the help of Govt of India. We just need shelter & nationality," said Nidan Singh Sachdeva, who came from Kabul, Afghanistan last year.

"We briefed PM Modi about our circumstances in Kabul. Our main problem was naturalisation, we wandered around for our citizenship. So we thanked PM Modi for bringing CAA & would like citizenship under one window: Tarendra Singh, an Afghanistan resident who shifted to India in 1989."