As part of regional and global concern over the future of Afghanistan and its people, eleven well-known Indian public figures have issued a joint appeal that expresses solidarity with the people of Afghanistan. One of the 11 signatories to the appeal is Sudheendra Kulkarni, columnist, peace activist, and a former aide to Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who extensively reported on Afghanistan in the 1980s as a journalist and has since visited it frequently. The appeal calls on the Taliban, now in charge of that country, to ensure that no terrorist organization has a sanctuary in Afghanistan and that its territory is not used for terrorist and extremist activities targeting any country in the world, near or far. The appeal also says that the Taliban guarantee the safety and security of every Afghan citizen regardless of their ethnicity, ideology or past political background. It says the safety, dignity and rights of women should be guaranteed even while protecting minorities such Hindus, Sikhs and other non-Muslim minorities.
