The wife and son of Tian Singh, an Indian national killed in the Kabul gurudwara attack, have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking the government to arrange for the transportation of his mortal remains from Kabul to Delhi so that they can perform his last rites.
“In this regard, we request you and your government to please facilitate and arrange immediate transportation/airlift of mortal remains of my husband/father from Kabil to Delhi and we would like to perform his last rites here in Delhi as we don’t have any blood relative in Kabul and my other children/siblings are in USA and United Kingdom and they also can’t travel either to New Delhi or to Kabul due to ongoing COVID 19 crisis.”Letter from Rajeet Kaur and Gurmeet Singh to PM Narendra Modi
Singh was one of the 27 people killed in the attack on the gurudwara at Shor Bazar in Kabul on 25 March, which has been claimed by the Islamic State Group as its handiwork. There were other Indians present at the Sikh place of worship, several of whom are reported to be injured.
The letter from Rajeet Kaur and Gurmeet Singh to the PM also requests him to “immediately shift the injured Indian nationals to New Delhi for better treatment.”
Jaishankar Says Embassy ‘Working’ on Return of Mortal Remains
In comments on Twitter, Dr S Jaishankar, the Union Minister for External Affairs, said that the grief and anger at the attack was understandable, and confirmed that the Indian Embassy in Kabul was in touch with the families of those killed and injured.
He also specifically mentioned that the Embassy was working on the return of Singh’s mortal remains, and updates would be made public. However, he noted that medical opinion was against moving the injured at this point of time.
‘Had Gone to Visit Relatives, Help Poor Afghan Sikhs’
In their letter, Singh’s family explains that he “was visiting Kabul, Afghanistan to meet his distant relatives and friends there”. The family comes from Afghanistan, and Singh was also there “to help the poor Afghan national Sikhs.”
Singh’s wife and son note that the attack has caused a deep concern for Sikhs and Hindus living in Afghanistan “who are in minority status and repeatedly being targeted by terror groups.”
You can read the whole letter below:
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