Former defence minister Harjit Sajjan asked Canadian special forces rescue about 225 Afghan Sikhs after the Taliban came to power in 2021 — a move three sources said to the Globe and Mail led to resources being diverted from assisting Canadian citizens and Afghans connected to Canada. The Globe and Mail reported Thursday Sajjan brought forward the location and other details about the Afghan Sikhs to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) as special forces headed to meet up with them. This information was provided to Sajjan from a Canadian Sikh group that had spoken with them. In Kabul, the sources said the situation was crazy, as evacuation flights were wrapping up and Canada and other Western countries scrambled to bring their citizens out of Afghanistan. While Sajjan wanted to rescue Afghan Sikhs, the sources confirmed they were not a priority for the CAF, as they were unconnected to Canada. Because he intervened in the rescue, they accused him of impacting those for Canadians and Afghans who they felt he should have prioritized. “The way it was presented to us at first was: If we can do this and pay attention to it, great, but not stopping doing everything else,” said one source to the Globe and Mail. “But a day or so later, it came back to us as a firm order.”The source said his leadership was enraged and upset. “There was such furious anger that the last 24 hours were solely dedicated to getting the Sikhs out,” he said. “We were unsuccessful.”However, Sajjan denied his comments were an order and wanted them to be a priority. “We were trying to rescue as many people as possible,” said Sajjan to the Globe and Mail. “They were just one group that we were asked to do.” Time was limited since the CAF was stopping its flights out of Kabul. The Americans left a few days after. When the rescue attempt happened, he consulted with Canadian Sikhs, who had spoken with three busloads of Afghan Sikhs waiting for soldiers at a location near the airport. They became worried and left before the soldiers came, but they had been asked to stay. He confirmed he texted with the CAF about the situation on the ground after speaking with the Manmeet Singh Bhullar Foundation, which had agreed to sponsor the Afghan Sikhs.“I relayed whatever information that 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 operational plan on the ground in Afghanistan,” he said.Sajjan said his instructions were acceptable and did not stop soldiers from evacuating Canadians and certain Afghans. One job he used to hold was an officer in the Canadian Army in Afghanistan. One source said this move made the the ordeal a logistical nightmare, as they were “still trying to hurry and process people through who have Canadian passports.”“Finding them and getting them through the Taliban checkpoints and linking up — it turned into a telephone game,” said the source to the Globe and Mail. While the sources felt Sajjan was being dominant, he said he never directed the military to do the rescue and only offered a suggestion. “You have to give a prioritization and then you leave it to the troops to figure out the rest,” he said. “You cannot direct troops on the ground.”The Department of National Defence (DND) said these evacuations were made “in accordance with direction by the Government of Canada and the Minister of National Defence.” DND said the order to the soldiers came from Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre and his officials. “Orders were issued by the CDS and his operational level commanders, and they considered risks to carrying out these operations,” said DND to the Globe and Mail. One source said a suggestion from the defence minister is treated as an order. “What is the difference?” said the source to the Globe and Mail. Global Affairs Canada (GAC) said in 2022 more than 1,000 Canadians remained in Afghanistan months after diplomats fled Kabul. READ MORE: More than a thousand Canadians were trapped in Afghanistan months after diplomats fledRecords did not indicate if Canadians remained stuck under Taliban rule. “One thousand two hundred eighty Canadians are still there,” said GAC.
