Security for Afghanistan's Religious Minorities in the U.S.-Taliban Peace Deal
Security for Afghanistan's Religious Minorities in the U.S.-Taliban Peace Deal
The Issue
There has been a sizeable population of Sikhs and Hindus in the region of Afghanistan since the rule of the Hindu Shahis from 879-1026 and the journeys of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first Sikh Guru, in 1521 and 1540. The Sikhs and Hindus there make up the bulk of the country's religious minorities as 99.7% of the country professes either Sunni or Shia Islam. As per published research by Hafizullah Emadi, estimates for the numbers of Sikhs and Hindus in the early 1970's was around 50,000. As different powers vyed for control over Afghanistan, Sikhs and Hindus began to try to make their way out, and their numbers dwindled with the dominance of US-backed muhajideen groups beginning to pave the way for the future of Afghanistan in 1992.
Sikhs and Hindus began to become the target for murders, kidnappings, and forced marriages. As the decade went on, the Taliban forced male members of the communities to wear yellow patches, and for the women to wear veils instead of the usual headscarves, or "chunnis", in an effort to segregate the two communities. After the Taliban fell and an American-backed government was installed, promises were made to create a system that wouldn't discriminate against minorities. However, the ratified constitution included such provisions as presidential candidates "should be citizens of Afghanistan, Muslim and born of Afghan parents". Sikhs and Hindus only have one reserved seat for them in the National Assembly of Afghanistan.
There was never any real peace brought by the United States, and if anything, the American invasion only brought a lawlessness that deeply affected the country's religious minorities. Sikhs and Hindus were again the target of fundamentalist warlords backed by the United States. In 2012, a suicide bomber killed Pritpal Singh Pal, a prominent speaker of the Sikh community, and in 2018 another suicide bombing wiped out most of the two communities' leadership, a total of 19 people in a delegation that was on its way to meet the Afghan President. There are now less than 300 Sikh families left in Afghanistan.
On March 25, 2020, a gunman entered the gurdwara of Kabul, the heart of the Sikh population there, and killed 25 Sikhs. A month prior to this, a peace deal had been signed by the United States and the Taliban, a peace deal that does not list any specific duties for the Taliban to protect its religious minorities. As per CIA wirings and telegrams dating back to 1979, the United States government, in particular the State department, has been made aware of the glaring treatment of Sikhs in Afghanistan, yet it is clear it has not been considered in any of America's dealings in the region. We ask President Trump, the Senate and Congressional committees on counter-terrorism, and the State Department to consider the plight of religious minorities as they back out of a volatile Afghanistan that is largely America's creation, and take responsibility to provide for their security and/or necessary relocation.
Cited: "Minorities and marginality: pertinacity of Hindus and Sikhs in a repressive environment in Afghanistan" by Hafizullah Emadi
https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09KABUL1591_a.html
128
The Issue
There has been a sizeable population of Sikhs and Hindus in the region of Afghanistan since the rule of the Hindu Shahis from 879-1026 and the journeys of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first Sikh Guru, in 1521 and 1540. The Sikhs and Hindus there make up the bulk of the country's religious minorities as 99.7% of the country professes either Sunni or Shia Islam. As per published research by Hafizullah Emadi, estimates for the numbers of Sikhs and Hindus in the early 1970's was around 50,000. As different powers vyed for control over Afghanistan, Sikhs and Hindus began to try to make their way out, and their numbers dwindled with the dominance of US-backed muhajideen groups beginning to pave the way for the future of Afghanistan in 1992.
Sikhs and Hindus began to become the target for murders, kidnappings, and forced marriages. As the decade went on, the Taliban forced male members of the communities to wear yellow patches, and for the women to wear veils instead of the usual headscarves, or "chunnis", in an effort to segregate the two communities. After the Taliban fell and an American-backed government was installed, promises were made to create a system that wouldn't discriminate against minorities. However, the ratified constitution included such provisions as presidential candidates "should be citizens of Afghanistan, Muslim and born of Afghan parents". Sikhs and Hindus only have one reserved seat for them in the National Assembly of Afghanistan.
There was never any real peace brought by the United States, and if anything, the American invasion only brought a lawlessness that deeply affected the country's religious minorities. Sikhs and Hindus were again the target of fundamentalist warlords backed by the United States. In 2012, a suicide bomber killed Pritpal Singh Pal, a prominent speaker of the Sikh community, and in 2018 another suicide bombing wiped out most of the two communities' leadership, a total of 19 people in a delegation that was on its way to meet the Afghan President. There are now less than 300 Sikh families left in Afghanistan.
On March 25, 2020, a gunman entered the gurdwara of Kabul, the heart of the Sikh population there, and killed 25 Sikhs. A month prior to this, a peace deal had been signed by the United States and the Taliban, a peace deal that does not list any specific duties for the Taliban to protect its religious minorities. As per CIA wirings and telegrams dating back to 1979, the United States government, in particular the State department, has been made aware of the glaring treatment of Sikhs in Afghanistan, yet it is clear it has not been considered in any of America's dealings in the region. We ask President Trump, the Senate and Congressional committees on counter-terrorism, and the State Department to consider the plight of religious minorities as they back out of a volatile Afghanistan that is largely America's creation, and take responsibility to provide for their security and/or necessary relocation.
Cited: "Minorities and marginality: pertinacity of Hindus and Sikhs in a repressive environment in Afghanistan" by Hafizullah Emadi
https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09KABUL1591_a.html
128
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Petition created on March 25, 2020