New Delhi, Jul 23 (PTI) There has been a recent spurt of attacks on Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan by terrorists at the behest of their "external supporters" and India has been providing necessary visas to members of these communities who want to come, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.

MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said once those who want to come and settle in India arrive in the country, their requests will be examined and acted upon based on existing rules and policies.

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Asked about how India is facilitating Sikhs and Hindus from Afghanistan wanting to come and were there any plans to give them citizenship, Srivastava noted that the question comes against the backdrop of Nidan Singh Sachdeva, a Sikh community leader of Afghanistan who was kidnapped in Paktia province last month, and released from captivity on Saturday.

"There has been a recent spurt of attacks on the Hindu and Sikh communities in Afghanistan and these attacks have been done by terrorists at the behest of their external supporters," Srivastava said, in an apparent reference to Pakistan.

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"We have been receiving requests from the members of these communities. They want to move to India, they want to settle down here, and despite the ongoing COVID situation, we are facilitating these requests," he said.

The Indian Embassy in Kabul is providing them necessary visas to come here and once they reach here, their requests will be examined and acted upon based on existing rules and policies, Srivastava said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)