In 2021, Harjit Sajjan, a Sikh Canadian, was the Minister of National Defence of Canada. That was a turbulent time when the US and its allies were rushing to exit Afghanistan amid a Taliban takeover of the war-ravaged country. Harjit Sajjan instructed the Canadian Armed Forces to prioritise the rescue of 225 Afghan Sikhs and allocated resources meant for Canadians to them, according to a news report. This is claimed to have affected the evacuation of those on the priority list for Canada.
According to a recent report by Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail, Harjit Sajjan, then Canada’s defence minister, used the resources allocated to Canadian citizens and Afghans linked to Canada and used them to help Afghan Sikhs. He even ordered that the Afghan Sikhs be rescued first.
Sajjan has denied the claims and said in a statement on June 28, as minister, he “did not order” the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to rescue Afghan Sikhs, according to the CBC, the official Canadian public broadcaster.
He said he just shared the information with the CAF provided to him by a Canadian Sikh group that had urged the Canadian government to rescue Afghan Sikhs.
At the time, various groups asked the Canadian government for help. Canadian forces had landed immediately after the fall of Kabul on August 15 and helped thousands of people.
However, the Globe and Mail report, citing three officials of Canadian forces, refutes Sajjan’s claims, and shows he ordered the airlifting of the over 200 Afghan Sikhs, prioritising them over Canadians or those linked to Canada.
HARJIT SAJJAN PRIORITISED EVACUATION OF AFGHANS SIKHS
The Globe and Mail report highlighted that its military sources were present in Ottawa and in Kabul. The sources revealed how the final hours were chaotic, dangerous and desperate.
Canada and other Western countries tried their best to evacuate their citizens from Afghanistan before the US deadline in August.
The military sources told The Globe and Mail that the army hadn’t prioritised the evacuation of Afghan Sikhs till Sajjan intervened. This affected the evacuation of those on the priority list for Canada.
The Canadian newspaper didn’t name its sources as they were not authorised to discuss the matter with media.
“The way it was presented to us at first was: If we can do this and pay attention to it, great, but not stop doing everything else,” a source, who was a special forces officer told the media outlet.
“But a day or so later, it came back to us as a firm order. Our leadership was furious. They were very upset.”
“There was such furious anger that the last 24 hours were solely dedicated to getting the Sikhs out. We were unsuccessful.”
The report made Canadians fume at Sajjan.
“This is absolutely insane. Harjit Sajjan instructed special forces soldiers to rescue 225 people of his own ethnic background during the fall of Afghanistan over actual Canadian citizens,” said Harrison Faulkner, a Canadian journalist and radio show host.
“Sajjan left Canadian allies behind to die while rescuing Afghans of his religion. Think about that for a minute and tell me how he isn’t charged with treason. I’ll wait,” said another person on X.
SAJJAN SAYS RELAYED INFORMATION, NOT PRIORITISED
Now, Sajjan is the Minister of Emergency Preparedness of Canada.
He has denied these claims. He said he only gave the information “through the appropriate chain of command to assist the group of Afghan Sikhs who had been determined eligible for evacuation,” reported CBC.
“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.”
Sajjan came under the spotlight when he visited India in 2017. Then Punjab Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, had given him a cold shoulder and had even called him a “Khalistani sympathiser”.
Sajjan is the son of a retired Punjab Police constable from Bambehali, a village in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur.
