Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on July 2nd, 2018 deemed the terror strike in Afganistan as an attack on the nation’s multicultural fabric. At least 19 people, including Hindus and Sikhs, were killed in a blast in Afghanistan’s Jalalabad on Sunday.
“My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I pray that the injured recover soon. India stands ready to assist the Afghanistan government in this sad hour,” Mr. Modi said
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said she would be meeting the relatives of the victims this evening here.
A suicide bomb attack in a city in eastern Afghanistan where President Ashraf Ghani was visiting killed at least 19 people, including the only Sikh candidate in upcoming legislative elections, officials said on Sunday.
The attacker struck a market located hundreds of meters from the provincial governor’s compound where Ghani was holding meetings, governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP. Of the 19 killed, 17 were Sikh and Hindus.
Avtar Singh, the only Sikh candidate running in the October 20 parliamentary and district council elections, was among the dead, an Indian embassy official said. In a statement, the embassy condemned the “cowardly” terrorist attack.
The attack was claimed by ISIS. Small communities of Sikhs and Hindus reside in what is otherwise an overwhelmingly Muslim nation. It is not clear if they were the intended target of the attack.
“The attack underlines the need for a united global fight against international terrorism without discrimination and accountability of those who support terrorists in any manner,” the Indian Embassy wrote on Twitter following the attack that killed at least 20 people on July 1.
Provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani confirmed the casualties and said it had been a suicide bombing. Khogyani did not provide more information about the blast. The explosion, in PD1, rocked the city at about 4 pm local time