Sikh population of Afghanistan is dwindling as they face religious intolerance

"It makes me very sad, now we Sikhs only own four houses round here, most people have sold up," said Narander Singh, a fortune teller and herbalist who took his own family to India over a decade ago but could not find work so returned to Kabul to support them from a distance. Many other men were in a similar situation, he said, with Afghan objections to the Sikh tradition of burning their dead a particular irritant.

Baljit, who never lived in Kabul, was part of the wider exodus. He was born in the eastern town of Jalalabad. His father died when he was young and the rest of the family left Afghanistan soon after. He was separated from his family during a journey through Pakistan, the Middle East and Europe, and ended up in England in 2007. His first request for asylum was refused, but he remained in the UK pending an appeal, until he was abruptly arrested when he tried to register for marriage in 2010. Shortly afterwards, he was deported following what both he and Motley describe as mistakes by careless lawyers.

a story about one man's trials and tribulations

"It's extremely difficult to get asylum in the UK, especially if you are not physically in the country," said Motley. "I think by them taking him back to the UK it is a recognition that there was a legal error that took place and that they are trying to correct."
Barr said the UK government's decision to deport a Sikh to Afghanistan was "shocking" given the country's limited religious freedom.
"Religious minorities are a very small portion of the population in Afghanistan, and are sometimes tolerated and sometimes not tolerated. So for the UK to send him back in the first place without carefully considering the situation of Sikhs in Afghanistan and the treatment that would await him is shocking," she said.
Singh told the Guardian by phone from Birmingham, where he is now seeking asylum, that being there felt "unbelievable". He had asked that his case not be publicized until he was back on British soil, because of worries it could complicate his departure.
"I never thought I would see the UK again … So many people are still stuck in jail [in Afghanistan]. I am so lucky," he added.
The British embassy declined to comment on the details of Singh's case, but suggested that it was convinced he is Afghan, and he was returned to the UK only because that could not be proved.
"Individuals are only returned to a country when there is substantial evidence that it is their country of origin," an embassy spokeswoman said. "We have agreements in place with certain countries that mean we will re-admit individuals unable to prove their nationality to the satisfaction of the receiving country's authorities."
The Afghan justice ministry said it was not aware of the case, and the attorney general's office did not respond to requests for comment.