After the pro-Soviet government fell, and there were various extremist elements and different insurgent groups, pressure increased on the Sikh community there. It increased on all communities there, but there's been a rise in religious intolerances. Whereas Sikhs and Hindus were seen as tolerated people and protected people, that has fallen to the wayside, and you have this increasing victimization. Under the Taliban, the Afghan Sikhs have told us that they had to wear these badges, they had to have flags on their houses, and they had these arcane rules they had to follow. They still claim that if they paid the jeziah, and they followed the rules, then they were still protected to some extent. After the Taliban fell, and you had the Karzai government, you had a short honeymoon period, but things after that have deteriorated to the point where they can't live there anymore. They say the government's unable to protect them. They're being extorted for money all the time. Things have gotten worse.
On July 18th, 2016. See this statement in context.