ISIS or Taliban not important: It is the ISI that ethnically cleanses Hindus and Sikhs

Published: Wednesday, July 4, 2018, 9:12 [IST]

Jalalabad, July 4: It has become increasingly clear that the Jalalabad bombing which targeted Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan had the blessing of the ISI, Pakistan's notorious spy agency. The aim was to directly target the Sikhs and ensure that they did not have a representation in the Afghanistan Parliament.

One of the 19 killed was Avtar Singh Khalsa, who was running for MP in the October elections. Captain Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister of Punjab was direct in his attack. He said that he strongly condemned the attack by the ISI on a delegation of Sikhs and others on the way to meet the Afghan President.

ISIS or Taliban not important: It is the ISI that ethnically cleanses Hindus and Sikhs — File Photo of Afghan security forces inspect the site of a suicide attack on the Indian consulate in the city of Jalalabad east of Kabul, Afghanistan.PTI Photo

Also Read | Jalalabad blast: Another attempt to ethnically cleanse Afghanistan, Pak of Hindus and Sikhs

The attack was claimed by the ISIS and not the Taliban. Experts however tell OneIndia that it is hardly important whether the ISIS or the Taliban carried out the attack. The ISI has managed yet to again to stage an attack in a bid to ethnically cleanse the Sikh and Hindu minority in Afghanistan as it has done for several years in Pakistan.

The Afghanistan Times in an editorial titled, 'Diversity under Attack," said that the people of Afghanistan must stand together to fight terrorism and its sponsor Pakistan. "The attack again underlined the need for united global fight against international terrorism without discrimination and accountability of those who support terrorists in any manner," it read.

The Jalalabad attack was a loud message to the Sikh and Hindu minority in Afghanistan. Khalsa would have been elected unopposed and this would have ensured representation to the community in Parliament. While the attack killed 19, it was aimed solely at eliminating Khalsa, officials in India say.

The Sikh population has gone down drastically in Afghanistan since the civil war broke out. They have been targeted specifically by the Taliban at the behest of the ISI who want to turn Pakistan and Afghanistan into an Islamic State. The attack puts a question mark over the existence of the community with many Sikhs saying that they want to leave Afghanistan.