A recent resolution, introduced in the US Congress, that aids in resettling Sikhs and Hindus from Afghanistan to the US under the United States Refugee Admissions Programme, referred to them as “endangered minorities.”

As per AFP reports, the resolution which highlighted the “systematic religious persecution, discrimination and existential danger” faced by the Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanisthan was introduced in the House of Representatives last week by Congresswoman Jackie Speier and was co-sponsored by seven others.

ALSO READ | United Nations refugee agency condemns US asylum limits

“Sikhs and Hindus are indigenous but endangered minorities in Afghanistan, numbering approximately 700 out of a community that recently included over 8,000 members,” the resolution read.

It denounced the attacks on Kabul Gurudwara on March 25th and the suicide bombing of July 2018 which took the lives of 19 people, including leaders of Sikh and Hindu communities.

“These acts of violence follow a greater pattern of targeted violence against Sikhs, Hindus, and other religious minorities in Afghanistan in recent years,” it said.

ALSO READ | Trump orders US census to exclude illegal immigrants

According to the resolution, the Department of State and US Commission on International Religious Freedom have documented systemic discrimination against Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan, including restrictions on religious practices, illegal seizure of property, the inability to send their children to public schools due to harassment, judicial bias against religious minorities, and constitutional limitations on the political rights of religious minorities.