Head Granthi at Kabul's Gurdwara Karte Parwan among 2 evacuated from Af

New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS) Two members of the Sikh community are being evacuated from war-torn Afghanistan, officials of India World Forum said on Thursday.

Satveer Singh, an Indian citizen serving as Head Granthi at Gurdwara Karte Parwan, Kabul, for the past twenty one years and Sorjit Singh, Afghan Citizen hailing from Khost Province and caretaker of Gurdwara situated there, were evacuated on Thursday.

The Indian government in coordination with India World forum has made this evacuation process possible. India World Forum in a statement said, "On the eve of 552nd Birth Anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev, Indian World Forum in coordination with the Government of India and assistance from Sobti Foundation has evacuated two persons from Afghanistan earlier today".

Both the evacuees - Indian Citizen Satvir Singh and Afghan citizen Sorjit Singh will land at New Delhi airport through private airline on Friday. Both of them are having a night stay in Tehran. However, a total of 218 Afghan Citizens belonging to Hindu & Sikh Communities await issuance of e-visas from the Government of India as of date, said Puneet Singh Chandhok, Indian World Forum President.

India's mission to evacuate its citizens from Kabul started after the Taliban took over the power in Afghanistan and seized the capital city. The evacuation mission has been named as "Operation Devi Shakti". India began the complex evacuation mission by airlifting 40 Indians from Kabul to Delhi on August 16. So far, India has evacuated over 800 people from Afghanistan.

The external affairs ministry had introduced a new category of "e-Emergency X-Misc Visa" of electronic/e-visa in August to fast track applications of Afghan citizens wanting to enter India. India World Forum has thanked the Ministry of External Affairs and other agencies involved in the evacuation process.