New Delhi: The Centre has granted nearly 100 e-visas on priority to Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, government sources said, in the wake of a deadly attack by the Islamic State on a Sikh temple in Afghan capital Kabul. The attack on Saturday killed at least two people and injured seven, officials said, in a spate of violence targeting minorities and places of worship.
Grey smoke billowed over the area in images aired by domestic broadcaster TOLO. A Taliban interior spokesman said attackers had laden a car with explosives but it had detonated before reaching its target. A temple official, Gornam Singh, said there were around 30 people inside the building at the time.
A spokesman for Kabul’s commander said one Sikh worshipper had been killed in the attack and one Taliban fighter was killed as his forces took control of the area. The blast on Saturday was widely condemned as one of a series of attacks targeting minorities, with a statement from neighbouring Pakistan saying its government was “seriously concerned at the recent spate of terrorist attacks on places of worship in Afghanistan.”