Opinion | Afghanistan: Kabul Gurudwara under attack

There has not been any letup in the wanton terror attacks in Afghanistan in the recent past as the Taliban-led Kabul government is expected to complete one year in office on August 15 this year. Most current terror assault happened when the suspected IS (Khorasan-K) terrorists carried out a deadly offensive on June 18 at a Gurudwara in Kabul killing four. Earlier too, Gurudwaras have been under attack by the terrorists in Afghanistan raising the insecurity among the religious minorities particularly the miniscule Sikh population reeling under fear and insecurity. The Taliban officials, however, visited the terror site and assured monetary help for repairs as the Gurudwara precincts were also damaged by the deadly terror strike. The latest offensive is indeed alarming as it is evident that the Taliban has failed to contain the rising attacks by the Khorasan group and emboldened by the laxity, and by the Taliban incompetence, to address the rising incidents of terror targeting the minority community and their places of worship.

Meanwhile, knowledgeable quarters indicate that the IS (K) while claiming the responsibility of the Gurudwara attack, said that it had planned to signal India for the anti-Prophet remarks recently made in India by some BJP leaders leading to a huge outcry in the Islamic world. Experts also believe that IS(K) being linked to Pakistan, does not rule out the possibility from a message emanating from Pakistan to both, India and Afghanistan, to keep off of any emerging thaw between Kabul and New Delhi. This argument, interestingly, is also not denied by security experts in Pakistan and is indeed disturbing. Disturbing, because the new regime in Pakistan was thought to be a shade better than the previous Imran Khan led government and it was expected that the script would now change as far as Indo-Afghan relations were concerned. But the same blueprint seems to remain with the Pakistan ISI, strongly suspected to be in cahoots with IS (K), active in Afghanistan to hit out at India and Afghanistan’s strategic and religious interests. The Kabul Gurudwara attack was a specific pointer towards this.

Importantly, the immediate fallout of this terror attack is also a setback to the Indian plans of reopening its Embassy in Kabul and Consulates in Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad etc. It may be recapitulated, in this context, that it is the Taliban leadership which of late, has been trying to prevail upon India to open its missions in Afghanistan for economic and consular assistance but the recent terror incident has surely put a question mark on such plans. In fact, plans were even afoot by a team of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to travel to Kabul to finalize the nitty gritty of the launching of the missions but it will now have to wait indefinitely.

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Significantly, on its part, acting rather swiftly, the Indian Home Ministry granted emergency visas to 111 Hindus and Sikhs from Afghanistan, hours after June 18 terror attack at the Kabul gurudwara. All had applied for visas in September 2021, but the applications were hastened only after the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP), attacked the gurudwara and killing four including a Sikh granthi. Crucially, only 159 minorities remain in Afghanistan after the Taliban took control in August 2021, including three members who do not have any passport. The community had been specifically petitioning the government to clear the visas after the ISKP issued threats two weeks ago in retaliation for the controversial statement made against the Prophet. It may be reiterated that though the visas had been pending for months, it was cleared within hours of the attack at the Gurudwara on Saturday.
This terror-related development calls for drawing immediate attention of the Pakistan security establishment to rein in the IS (K) terrorists reminding in them that it has found a breather from the FATF and if it continues to nurture the IS(K) and prompts them to harm interests, it could be further exposed internationally, as a proven terrorist. Such diplomatic efforts on India’s part must put pressure on Pakistan and it’s ISI, to refrain from facilitating terror assaults on Indian interests and religious places minorities. India could possibly use the good offices of some CIS countries, Iran etc. in furtherance of this task.

Further, India should continue to engage Taliban to collaborate with Indian security and intelligence agencies, albeit discreetly, to identify Pakistan’s nefarious designs to foil any plan for future attacks on Hindu/Sikh religious establishments. India also needs to talk from a position of strength and steadily meander its plan to reopen it’s diplomatic setup in the Afghan soil. This will keep Pakistan at bay, enable India to be more watchful of anti-India activities carried out by joint ISI and IS (K) and eventually neutralize those plans by professional operations to safeguard its own security interests. Onslaught on a defenseless gurudwara of killing innocent Sikhs in the pretext of anti-Prophet remarks, is only an excuse. This Pakistani-IS(K) cover needs to be blown and tough measures put in place for integrated security protecting national interests.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)