In wake of Kabul gurdwara attack, activist says no peace until religious terrorism is defeated

In the wake of the recent barbaric attack on the minority Sikh community in Afghanistan by Islamic State terrorists, a Scottish human rights activist has opined that there can be no peace until religious terrorism is totally defeated and annihilated.

Condemning the terror attack on the gurdawara, Amjad Ayub Mirza said, "My heart goes out to those who have lost their family members in the incident which has claimed more than dozens of lives and caused massive damage to the temple itself."

On Wednesday, armed gunmen killed 25 civilians in an attack on the 400-year old gurudwara, located in the Shor Bazar of the Afghan capital. The incident, since then, has left the Sikh community in desolation.

The Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan has claimed responsibility for the attack, but many experts believe that Pakistan's spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) propagated the incident to oppose Ashraf Ghani, who was re-elected as the President of Afghanistan last month.

"Everone should form an alliance to defeat Islamic religious terrorism. Zero tolerance for hate speech by Imams in mosques during congregations should be imposed all over the world," Mirza told ANI.

The Taliban has signed a peace deal with the United States, last month that would see all American troops leave the country.

Speaking about the peace deal Mirza said, "The deal between Taliban and America is a farce. A peace deal does not include broad peace between Taliban and other faith living in the land, or between the Taliban and the Afghan government."

The activist further recalled a similar incident of terror attack in the war-torn country when a convoy of Sikhs and Hindus was attacked by an Islamic State suicide bomber while on their way to meet Ghani in Jalalabad city in June 2018. The attack had left 19 people dead.

In recent years, large number of Sikhs and Hindus from Afghanistan have sought asylum in India.