Sajjan says he relayed information on rescuing Sikhs in Afghanistan during chaotic fall of Kabul
Then-defence minister Har‐ jit Sajjan relayed informa‐ tion to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) about how to rescue Sikhs in Afghanistan while troops were trying to get Canadi‐ ans out of Kabul as it was falling to the Taliban in Au‐ gust 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 ap‐ propriate chain of command to assist the group of Afghan Sikhs who had been deter‐ mined eligible for evacua‐ tion."
"I relayed whatever infor‐ mation 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 opera‐ tional plan on the ground in Afghanistan."
The Globe and Mail pub‐ lished a different interpreta‐ tion of those events on Thursday.
The paper, citing un‐ named sources, said that Saj‐ jan, who currently serves as the minister for emergency preparedness, "instructed Canadian special forces to rescue about 225 Afghan Sikhs" - members of a reli‐
gious 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 prior‐ ity during the evacuation was to support Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family mem‐ bers, as well as vulnerable Afghans who had assisted Canada during its military op‐ eration in the country.
The government also identified other groups, in‐ cluding Afghan religious mi‐ norities and members of LGBTQ community, as poten‐ tial evacuees to be resettled.
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 peo‐ ple 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 night‐ mare" that happened as Canadian forces were "trying to hurry and process people through who have Canadian passports."
Speaking to reporters at an unrelated announcement in B.C., Sajjan said the Globe and Mail's story was "utter BS."
He said it was approved government policy to try to evacuate Afghan Sikhs.
"All effort was done to car‐ ry this out, to get as many people out as possible," he said.
Asked if he understood his comments to the military to be a direct order to rescue Sikhs, Sajjan referred re‐ porters to his written media statement.
When reporters asked if he intervened to try to help Canadians or any other vul‐ nerable or religious groups get out of Kabul as the Tal‐ iban seized control, Sajjan again referred to the written statement. The statement does not address that mat‐ ter.
When asked if it was ap‐ propriate to intervene at all in the rescue mission, Sajjan said it's the job of the de‐ fence minister to "execute the government policies of the day."
Sajjan suggested that his actions are only now being construed as improper be‐ cause he's a Sikh.
Sajjan said he wouldn't be getting questions about his efforts to help Afghan Sikhs "if I wasn't wearing a turban."
Sajjan said something similar in his media state‐ ment: "I can only surmise that if I did not wear a tur‐ ban, no one would question whether my actions were ap‐ propriate."
That sentiment was echoed by the World Sikh Or‐ ganization, an advocacy group.
"Allegations that Minister Harjit Sajjan acted inappro‐ priately 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 tar‐ geted by groups like the Is‐ lamic State, the WSO said.
"Evacuating vulnerable groups like Afghan Sikhs and Hindus was a humanitarian duty that any Canadian min‐ ister should have under‐ taken. 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 De‐ fence (DND) said the mili‐ tary's evacuation orders were "conducted in accordance with direction by the Govern‐ ment of Canada and the Min‐ ister 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 offi‐ cials, 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 danger‐ ous situation, the depart‐ ment 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 opera‐ tion," the department said.
The Afghan Sikhs left the spot where they were ex‐ pected to meet up with CAF personnel because they feared for their safety, the Globe and Mail reported.
Sajjan confirmed "the gov‐ ernment was unable to evac‐ uate from Kabul this group of Afghan Sikhs, although other efforts were more success‐ ful."
Asked to respond to Saj‐ jan's involvement in the res‐ cue of Afghan Sikhs, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the Liberal government's Kabul rescue efforts were "a failure."
"Canada has a responsi‐ bility to provide some relief to folks and didn't do a good job," Singh said.
Singh said he couldn't comment on whether it was appropriate for Sajjan to li‐ aise with the military on how to rescue a particular group of Sikhs because he doesn't know enough about what the minister did.
James Bezan, the Conserv‐ ative defence critic, was asked Thursday if it was ap‐ propriate for Singh to relay details about Afghan Sikhs while CAF personnel were trying to rescue Canadians and those who supported the Canadian mission.
Bezan said the Liberal government has failed the military "because they don't trust or respect the expert leadership of our men and women in uniform, be it on procurement, recruitment or in operations."