Nidan Singh Sachdeva, who was kidnapped by Taliban, thanks PM Modi for help

Nidan Singh Sachdeva, a community leader of Afghanistan who was kidnapped in Paktia province in June 2020, on Saturday, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for providing help for his release. Sachdeva, who came to India in June 2020, said that the Taliban had thought that he was an Indian spy.

"I was working in a Gurudwara. They (Taliban) kidnapped me from there. They thought of us as Indian spies, wanted us to convert... We thanked PM Narendra Modi Ji and are happy with the help of the Government of India," Nidan Singh said.

Singh was in the first batch of Afghan Sikh families (11 members), who were subjected to prosecution and terror attacks, and arrived in India in July 2020. India had granted an appropriate visa and facilitated their travel to New Delhi.

PM Modi meets Afghan Sikh-Hindu delegation, tells them 'India is your home'

Earlier in the day, a delegation of Sikhs and Hindus from Afghanistan met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence in New Delhi and thanked him for bringing about the Citizenship Amendment Act as well as standing up for them in times of distress.

Welcoming the delegation, PM Modi said they are not guests, but that India is their home. A statement issued by PMO said that the Prime Minister talked about the immense difficulties faced by Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan and the help provided by the Centre to bring them to India safely

He also talked about the significance of the CAA and its benefit for the community. PM Modi assured that of continued support in the future as well to fix all issues and address the difficulties faced by them.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who was present on the occasion, thanked PM Modi for sending help from India to bring back members of the community safely.

The members of the delegation said that they had tears in their eyes when they heard PM talking about making special arrangements to bring back 'Swaroop' of Guru Granth Sahib from Afghanistan to India with proper reverence, according to the statement.

A large number of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus have been living in India, and the Indian government recently evacuated many of them after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. 

The CAA, which enables granting of Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim minorities of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, was passed by Parliament on December 11, 2019, and the Presidential nod was received the next day.

(With inputs from PTI)