140 Afghan Sikhs stopped from attending Guru Tegh Bahadur's birth anniversary in India
Darpan News Desk IANS, 26 Aug, 2021 11:48 AM
Kabul/New Delhi, Aug 26 (IANS) At least 140 Afghan Sikh pilgrims who were scheduled to arrive in Delhi on Thursday to attend the celebrations marking the 400th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur, were stopped by the Taliban to board a flight from Kabul.
"A kirtan darbar is scheduled to be held on Sunday. Community members from various parts of the world are arriving here. Unfortunately the Taliban denied the 140 pilgrims access to the Kabul airport," said Afghan national Partap Singh, who is President of the Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji gurdwara in New Mahavir Nagar.
The 400th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, will be marked in a grand manner.
"We had requested the Indian government to facilitate their attendance at the mega celebrations. Regret to note that last night these law abiding pilgrims were turned back by Taliban security forces from the airport after waiting for more than 15 hours in their convoys," said Afghan-origin Guljeet Singh, president of the Guru Nanak Sahib ji gurudwara in Vikaspuri.
Indian World Forum President Puneet Singh has appealed to the Taliban to facilitate an early departure of the Afghan Hindu and Sikh pilgrims in the interest of humanity.
Prominent hospitals in Gurugram have claimed that a huge dip in admission of foreign nationals have been witnessed due to the ongoing Covid pandemic, while the latest political tussle in Afghanistan will also have a huge impact on medical tourism in Gurugram.
India's priority in Afghanistan is safely getting back home its citizens in the country that has been over-run by the Taliban and it is discussing the matter with UN and US officials, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said here on Wednesday.
The BJP MLA from the Bispi Assembly constituency in Bihar's Madhubani district, Hari Bhushan Thakur Bachaul, made a controversial statement on Wednesday when he said that people having problems staying in India should go to Afghanistan and avail petrol and diesel at a lower price there.
Delhi's air quality was in the moderate category in certain places, while it was very poor at others. Air quality index (AQI) was 370 in Anand Vihar, while it was 150 in Mayur Vihar.
