Canada Minister was instrumental in making problems in Afghan Sikh Evacuation in 2021

Canada's former defence minister Harjit Sajjan's alleged prioritization of Afghan Sikh evacuation disrupted India's 2021 Kabul evacuation plans. The incident delayed an Indian flight, risking evacuees' safety, and ultimately led to India evacuating the Afghan Sikh group on August 22, 2021.

New developments indicate that through a twist of events, Harjit Sajjan, the former defense minister of Canada may have scuppered India’s arrangements to evacuate Afghan Sikhs from Kabul in August 2021. This information provides insight into the difficulties experienced during the confusion that ensued during evacuation after the Taliban seized control of Kabul.

Based on an article from the media station from Canada’s Globe & Mail, Sajjan is accused of having arranged the evacuation of Afghan Sikhs ahead of other Canadian citizens and other allies from Afghanistan. This decision, which Sajjan has since denied, seems to have brought, negative implications on India’s Operation Devi Shakti.

It was disclosed by Indian officials who have preferred to remain anonymous that there was a list that featured 22 to 40 Afghan Sikhs from the Karte Parwan Gurdwara in Kabul who were supposed to be evacuated on August 20-21, 2021. However, instead of going straight to the airport as was scheduled, the group uncharacteristically deviated to the Canadian mission in Kabul. This was allegedly done at the instance of Sajjan through a Canada based Sikh NGO , which had assured the trapped folks evacuation to Canada.

The change in plans left Indian officials at the Kabul airport, including those in Delhi, unprepared and bewildered. Having been incommunicado for more than two hours and with security incidences getting worse every passing minute, the safety of the group had become a cause of serious concern. The evacuation flight arranged by Indian authorities was then postponed, which endangered the lives of the other evacuees in the unstable climate.

Ironically, the Canadian government, which had assured that it would evacuate the Afghan Sikh group, failed to do so. They had to, therefore, seek help from the Indian Government and were flown on an Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft on 22 August 2021.

This case shows that evacuations in international operations in crises are not only difficult, but also full of various issues. It also emphasises the need for collaboration among nations, which undertake such operations.

A total of 669 people have been rescued from Afghanistan through Operation Devi Shakti, with the 206 of them being the Afghan Hindu and Sikh minority community. The operation also helped in retrieving religious items such as copies of Guru Granth Sahib back to India.

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This event will not be over until investigations are complete; it is a good demonstration of how international relations can be sensitive and any actions in an evacuation process can have severe repercussions.