While the world is still fighting the dangerous Caronavirus,  we are confronted with the news that despite a ceasefire worked out between the United States and the militants of Afghanistan, the poorest of the poor Sikhs left behind in Afghanistan were attacked by suicide bombers in a Gurdwara Sahib Gurdwara Guru Har Rai Sahib, Shor Bazaar in Kabul.

The encounter between the Afghan military and the extremist elements who attacked the Gurdwara Sahib in Kabul has just ended after nearly three hours. There were close to a 150 Sikhs inside the Gurdwara Sahib at the time of the attack.

As per a conservative estimate, only about 300 to 400 Sikhs were left in Afghanistan. They were those who are extremely poor or those who did not want to desert their beloved historic Gurdwaras.

“I think many are dead. I have called on many numbers of relatives in the Gurdwara and no one is responding.” These are the words of a young Sikh standing outside the Gurdwara on the telephone to a WSN reporter in India.

“I left my room at around 8 am, near the staircase I found a person with Kalashnikov and I called him out. While he started firing, I bolted the door and the gunman tried to enter by breaking the glass and opening fire. So, I ran towards the roof. On the way, I saw a few dead bodies including that of one Granthi and his son. From another roof, an Afghan army soldier told him to remain inside and assured me that we will be rescued,” says a Sikh resident, perhaps living in one of the rooms of the Gurdwara Sahib.

“I am seeing ambulances taking the injured to the hospital. I have seen the dead being taken to the hospital. The attack on the Gurdwara has just been contained by the Afghan military but I cannot tell you the number of casualties. All I can say is the number is quite high,” said Narinder Singh, Member Parliament of the Afghanistan Parliament and son of the former Member Parliament who was killed earlier.

#Breaking #Sikhs #Kabul #Afghanistan #AttackonGurdwara pic.twitter.com/MMYX4pkR8O

— The World Sikh News (@WorldSikhNews1) March 25, 2020

This is a developing story….We are attempting to get more details from the Sikhs in Kabul. Watch this space regularly for updates.