Indian MHA to prioritise visa process fot Afghan Hindus, Sikhs

New Delhi: With the fast changing situation in Afghanistan after Taliban taking control and the Indian diplomatic staff returning home, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will prioritize the visa process for Afghan Hindus and Sikhs under the newly introduced "e-Emergency X-Misc Visa".

The government's move came amid reports that over 200 Sikhs have been taking shelter in a Gurudwara in Kabul while Hindus are confined to their homes after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15 this year.

As per a report by IANS, although the new category of visa has been opened for all Afghan nationals, priority will be given to the stranded Sikhs and Hindus.

The issue was also discussed in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.

The External Affairs Ministry (MEA) reiterated on Tuesday that the government's priority is to safely evacuate the remaining Indians left there and to also ensure the security of Hindus and Sikhs there as well.

The External Affair Minister Dr S. Jaishankar has also said that an 'Afghanistan cell' has been created in the Ministry for the constant monitoring of the situation there and the Indian authorities have been in constant touch with the Hindu and Sikh community leaders in Kabul.

The MHA on Tuesday had introduced a new category of electronic visa to fast-track visa applications for entry into India. Under this category, an emergency visa will be given for six months first to the Afghani nationals and that will only be granted after security clearance.

Many Afghan nationals have been fleeing from the war torn country and many want to come to India.

The Indian Embassy at Kabul has been shifted here in MEA and all the embassy personnel including Indian Ambassador Rudrendra Tandon have returned to India by an IAF aircraft which brought back 120 Indian officials, including the last batch of the Indian embassy staff, ITBP personnel from the Kabul airport on Tuesday.