Then-defence minister Harjit Sajjan relayed information to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) about how to rescue Sikhs in Afghanistan while troops were trying to get Canadians out of Kabul as it was falling to the Taliban in August of 2021.
Sajjan said in a media statement Thursday that, as minister, he “did not order” Canadian Special Operations Forces to rescue Sikhs in Kabul.
He said Sikhs in Afghanistan were not given priority over Canadians and other groups that Canada was intent on rescuing from a country that had just fallen to a group listed as a terrorist entity under Canadian law.
Sajjan confirmed he did relay information to the armed forces provided to him by a Canadian Sikh group — a non-governmental organization (NGO) that was encouraging the Canadian government to rescue Afghan Sikhs and resettle them in this country.
He said he provided the information “through the appropriate chain of command to assist the group of Afghan Sikhs who had been determined eligible for evacuation.”
“I relayed whatever information the NGO provided about the location and status of these Sikhs to the chain of command for it to use as it saw fit, in line with its operational plan on the ground in Afghanistan.”
The Globe and Mail published a different interpretation of those events on Thursday.
The paper, citing unnamed sources, said that Sajjan, who currently serves as the minister for emergency preparedness, “instructed Canadian special forces to rescue about 225 Afghan Sikhs” — members of a religious minority in Afghanistan — who were “not considered an operational priority for the Canadian military as they had no link to Canada.”
The military’s stated priority during the evacuation was to support Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family members, as well as vulnerable Afghans who had assisted Canada during its military operation in the country. The government also identified other groups, including religious minorities and members of LGBTQ community, as potential evacuees.
After interpreting Sajjan’s communications about the Afghan Sikhs as an order from the minister to rescue them, Canadian special forces tried to track the Sikhs down and bring them to the airport to be flown out to safety, the paper reported.
The Globe and Mail said some of its military sources felt “Sajjan was out of line in pressing Canadian special forces to rescue the Afghan Sikhs” because the operation involved “intense planning and it meant fewer soldiers were available to screen people awaiting the last flights out of Kabul.”
The Globe and Mail says it was told by military sources the mission to rescue the Sikhs was a “logistical nightmare” that happened as Canadian forces were “trying to hurry and process people through who have Canadian passports.”
Sajjan suggested that his actions are only now being construed as something improper because he’s a Sikh.
“It does sadden me to be answering this question when it was clear Sikhs and other minorities were part of government policy to support and assist vulnerable Afghans. I can only surmise that if I did not wear a turban, no one would question whether my actions were appropriate,” Sajjan said in his media statement.
That sentiment was echoed by the World Sikh Organization, an advocacy group.
“Allegations that Minister Harjit Sajjan acted inappropriately are unfounded and appear to be influenced by bias against his Sikh identity,” the group said in a media statement.
The WSO said it wasn’t just Liberals who were trying to secure safe passage for Sikhs.
The organization said a group of 25 Canadian MPs, including Conservative, NDP and Green members, wrote to then-Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino in July 2020 — a year before the fall of Kabul — calling for a special program for Afghan Sikh and Hindu refugees so that they could be brought to safety in Canada.
Sikhs in the country had faced suicide bomb attacks in the past and had been targeted by groups like the Islamic State, the WSO said.
“Evacuating vulnerable groups like Afghan Sikhs and Hindus was a humanitarian duty that any Canadian minister should have undertaken. The suggestion that Minister Harjit Sajjan acted on this issue because he is a Sikh is deeply troubling and reflects a disturbing bias,” said WSO president Danish Singh.
In a media statement, the Department of National Defence (DND) said the military’s evacuation orders were “conducted in accordance with direction by the Government of Canada and the Minister of National Defence.”
“Orders were issued by the CDS and his operational level commanders, and they considered risks to carrying out these operations,” the department said.
The DND statement said CAF personnel, working closely with Immigration and Global Affairs Canada officials, were “given a master list of vetted and vulnerable individuals, which it worked to load onto flights.”
CAF personnel did what they could in a very dangerous situation, the department said.
“Afghan Sikhs were amongst several vulnerable populations that Canada and its allies were working to bring to safety as part of the coalition air bridge operation,” the department said.
The Afghan Sikhs left the spot where they were expected to meet up with CAF personnel because they feared for their safety, the Globe and Mail reported.
Sajjan confirmed “the government was unable to evacuate from Kabul this group of Afghan Sikhs, although other efforts were more successful.”