http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020502/punjab1.htm#6

Afghan Hindus, Sikhs invited to return
SGPC to send jathas to Afghanistan
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 1
The Hamid Karzai government will return the property of thousands of Hindus and Sikhs, which had been freezed by the Taliban regime and offer protection and support to them on their return to Afghanistan.

The Hamid Karzai-led interim government has also expressed its desire to invite the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) for the repair of historical gurdwaras and other Sikh shrines which were partly destroyed during the decade-long internal strife in Afghanistan and due to the indifferent attitude of the Taliban. Meanwhile, the SGPC has welcomed the gesture of the Afghanistan Government and had decided to send jathas to Afghanistan for the reconstruction of gurdwaras.

Mr Sayed Sadi Mutafaqir Afghanistan?s Deputy Minister for Transport, while talking to The Tribune during his one-day official visit to the city said the interim government had decided to grant full protection to Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, who had fled from the country following the policies of the Taliban. Most of these Afghan Hindus and Sikhs had migrated to Pakistan and India.

?I invite them to come back to their country and assure them that we will take care of their problems. I also assure them that their properties, either usurped by the Taliban or those which were seized by the previous regime will be returned to them,? said Mr Mutafaqir.

The minister further said to instil confidence among the Afghan Hindus and Sikhs, Mr Hamid Karzai and his Cabinet had celebrated Baisakhi in one of the gurdwaras in Afghanistan. Mr Mutafaqir said his government would provide assistance to the SGPC if it desired to reconstruct gurdwaras there.

The SGPC chief, Mr Kirpal Singh Badungar, has welcomed the initiative of Afghanistan and said the organisation would strive to initiate the reconstruction of the shrines at the earliest.

The minister was here to inspect a fleet of 50 buses, which had been given to Afghanistan by the Indian Government as part of aid for rebuilding would leave Amritsar for Afghanistan through the Wagah border tomorrow. The aid includes buses and one lakh tonnes of wheat.

Mr Mutafaqir said India had contributed a lot in the development of his country. He said normalcy had returned to Afghanistan and the priority of the new government would be to establish links with different countries. ?As part of this move, we have decided to reconstruct airstrips and have identified new air routes to be opened soon,? he said.