There were thousands of Sikhs living in Kabul before the Soviet–Afghan War and Afghan Civil War (1992–1996). Many of them fled among the Afghan refugees in the 1980s and 1990s to India and neighboring Pakistan.[1][2][3] After the American military involvement and the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001, some of them decided to return. As of 2008, there are an estimated 2,500 Sikhs in Afghanistan.[4]
The road outside the Gurdwara was widened prior to 2009 and the two rows of buildings and the courtyard of the Gurdwara have been reduced in size.[5]
Attacks
On October 5, 2021, some armed individuals which were assumed to be affiliated with the Taliban forcibly entered the site and began destroying the interior. Damage to furniture, walls, and windows was reported as well as destruction of several security cameras.[6]
On 18 June 2022, militants affiliated to the Islamic State-Khorasan Province stormed the gurdwara and fired at the worshippers. Later that day, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan's Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor announced that three militants had been neutralized by Taliban soldiers and the gunfight resulted in the death of one Taliban soldier and a Sikh worshipper.[7]
