Otar Singh, who will represent the Afghan Sikh and Hindu community in the elections, has said the majority of Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan have registered to vote in the upcoming elections. 

He said that over 200 Sikh and Hindu families live across Afghanistan. 

Otar Singh, 52, who is a native of Paktia, has spent most of his life in Kabul. Singh has also served in the ranks of the Afghan security forces for almost ten years. 

“I have decided to run for elections, I live as an Afghan under the flag of Islam, it does not make a difference for me if a person is a Tajik, a Pashtun, a Hazara or Hindu,” said Singh. 

Singh also serves as head of the Afghanistan Sikh and Hindu Council.

“Previously we had a lot of problems, whenever we were consulting, no one was taking steps to resolve our problems,” said a Sikh citizen in Kabul Ram Nat Kumar. 

The Afghan Wolesi Jirga, or lower house of parliament, has 249 seats and the Hindu and Sikh community have one seat. 

According to the Independent Election Commission (IEC), until now, over 600 Sikhs and Hindus have registered to vote in the elections.