180 Sikh families from Afghanistan arrive in Delhi

A batch of 180 Sikh families from Afghanistan arrived at the IGI airport here on Thursday on "long-term" visas, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Manjinder Singh Sirsa said.

Following an attack on a gurdwara in Afghanistan in March this year, there has been an "exodus" of Sikh and Hindu families. They are arriving in India on the initiative of the DSGMC, Sirsa said in a statement.

"Till date more than 450 families have already arrived in the national capital and the DSGMC is making arrangements for their stay in the inns of gurdwaras. The families also brought with them Guru Grant Sahib, in a chartered plane," he said.

They were welcomed at the airport by Sirsa and Vikramjeet Singh Sahni of the World Punjabi Organisation.

Sirsa thanked the central government, particularly Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, for facilitating "long-term visas" for these families, the statement added.