All Afghans have been persecuted, says Hamid Karzai

India should treat all Afghans equally, former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai said, taking exception to the stipulation in the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, that only Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis from that country would be eligible for fast-tracked naturalisation in India.

“We don’t have persecuted minorities in Afghanistan… the whole country is persecuted. We have been in war and conflict for a long time. All religions in Afghanistan — Muslims and Hindus and Sikhs — which are our three main religions, have suffered,” Mr. Karzai said. He was speaking exclusively to The Hindu during a visit to Delhi where he addressed the inaugural session of the government’s Raisina Dialogue.

Mr. Karzai said he hoped the sentiment that minorities must be protected “would be reflected in India with regard to other Afghans, who are Muslim, as well.”

Source: The Hindu