UNITED SIKHS Continues Efforts to Resettle Afghan Sikhs and Hindus on the Anniversary of Attacks in Kabul

Dated: March 25, 2021
New York, NY
Today, March 25, 2021, marks the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Gurdwara Har Rai Sahib located in Kabul, Afghanistan. Since the attacks, UNITED SIKHS has sought international help to resettle families and individuals who continue to face religious persecution and harm in the area.  Today, UNITED SIKHS staff and volunteers remember all those who perished on that day and in the senseless violence in Afghanistan and we condemn religious discrimination and violence. 
This attack took place in the middle of a religious ceremony as 200 people gathered to pray. The gunmen opened fire, killing 25 civilians including children. This attack was perpetrated by an Afghan guerilla group known as ISIS-Haqqani Network and was one of many instances of anti-Sikh and Anti-Hindu violence in Afghanistan. Shortly after the attack, Afghan agencies arrested a Pakistani national and 19 of his associates for their role in the Sikh massacre. The Afghanistan government refused to extradite the people responsible for the Kabul attack on Pakistan, resulting in their trial in Afghanistan. 
Following this attack, UNITED SIKHS, which has had a long-standing presence in the area, reached out to government leaders around the world to stand against religious persecution and to protect Sikhs, Hindus, and other ethnic-religious minorities from religious persecution. UNITED SIKHS reached out to several international advocacy groups, including the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC). ICC, under its international jurisdiction, proceeded to open up an investigation into international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression that have taken place in Afghanistan. The ICC stands to hold those responsible for acts of violence accountable for their crimes to protect victims where national law enforcement has been unable. 
As attacks against ethnoreligious minorities in Afghanistan continue to terrorize Afghan Sikhs, the population of Sikh refugees continues to grow. India, Pakistan, Canada, UK, Australia, and the U.S. are all being explored as permanent safe-havens.  Direct advocacy is taking place with those nations. 
One year after the Kabul terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of 25 Sikhs, UNITED SIKHS continues to work and advocate with the United Nations, world leaders, human rights organizations, and the international community to ensure that Afghan Sikh and Hindu families may be granted asylum and take solace in that we are here to help.  On March 24, 2021, UNITED SIKHS became a signatory to a letter signed by hundreds of civil rights organizations calling on current  U.S. President Biden to increase the number of refugees that the U.S. will resettle.  
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UNITED SIKHS
Kiran Kaur