"All achievements of the last 20 years in Afghanistan have been lost. Nothing is left. It's zero now," said Afghan lawmaker Narender Singh Khalsa soon after his arrival along with 167 others at the Hindon airbase on Sunday as part of 's evacuation mission from Taliban besieged Kabul.
The Sikh lawmaker thanked the n Government for rescuing him, his family and several other members of his community. Recalling the harrowing experience of the past seven days after the Taliban took control of Kabul, Khalsa said the situation is "very bad" and appealed to the n Government to rescue the remaining stranded Hindus and Sikhs from the war-torn country.
"The Taliban used to ask us to remain in Afghanistan saying your security is our responsibility. As there are so many groups of Taliban, we do not know whom to speak to and whom to believe. That's why we decided to leave as the situation is serious," he added.
Khalsa said almost all ns and Afghan Sikhs were taking shelter at gurudwaras in Kabul and elsewhere and that some 200 other ns and n-origin people are waiting to be rescued.
“We are worried about our people who are still staying there," he said. Asked about the brief detention of ns and the Afghan Sikhs and Hindus on Saturday by the Taliban when they were on their way to the Kabul airport.
"They separated us from the ns...In each of the gates at the airport, 5000-6000 people were standing. Initially, we could not go inside," he said.
"A person from Taliban harassed us. Then we left the place and came to a gurudwara. Our n friends were also harassed. It was difficult to understand who was a good person and who was bad. Then around 8 at night, we entered the airport by a VIP entry point," he added.
Khalsa said the temples and gurudwaras in Afghanistan are unharmed and safe so far.