Son Of Sikh Leader, Killed In Terror Attack, Leads In Afghan Polls

Narender Singh Khalsa, the son of Sikh leader Avtar Singh who was killed in Jalalabad, has secured a seat in the Lower House of the Parliament (Wolesi Jirga), according to Afghanistan Election Commission's preliminary results.

Mr Singh has secured the seat on behalf of the Sikh and Hindu community of the country, according to a statement released by the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan (IEC).

The parliamentary elections were held on October 20 last year. The final results are yet to be announced.

Besides Mr Singh, eight individuals including Alhaj Asadullah Shahbaz, Mohammad Azim Mohsin, Atiqullah Ramin, Alhaj Mamor Ahmadzai, Dr Mohammad Nasim Mudabir, Alhaj Ustad Abdul Razaq Hashim, Shukria Eisa Khel and Nooria Hamidi have secured seats in the Lower House of the Parliament, reported Khaama Press.

A strong message to those who had or have the dream of dividing our country on the basis of religion or sect , Narender Singh Khalesa won an MP seat in parliamentary elections in Afghanistan . pic.twitter.com/ZaBqE41oOw

— Rezwan Maidanwal (@RMaidanwal) January 3, 2019

Avtar Singh, who was the lone Sikh candidate for the Wolesi Jirga elections, was killed in an ISIS attack in Jalalabad in July last year. He was amongst the 19 people who had lost their lives in the suicide blast.

His son had also suffered injuries in the attack but later recovered and contested the parliamentary elections in place of his father.