‘Why are these believers running away from Sharia?’: Indian ruling party politician mocks fleeing Afghans as Taliban takes over

A politician from India’s ruling party has questioned why thousands of people are fleeing Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover amid the imminent imposition of Sharia law, which Indian patriots deeply despise.

On Monday, videos and photos of Kabul’s international airport being stormed by thousands of Afghans were widely shared across social media. In some footage, the runway can be seen packed full of people, reportingly preventing the take-off of a C-17 Globemaster military transport aircraft.

Such was their desperation that some people can be seen clinging to an aircraft’s body as it taxis to the runway. Reports, accompanied by videos, suggest some fell to their deaths from the transporter after take-off. 

However, the plight of fleeing Afghans, fearing reprisals and life under the Taliban, has not been entirely well received in India. BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party – India’s ruling party) politician Kapil Mishra was among the first to query the Kabul exodus, writing on Twitter: “Why these believers are running away from sharia?
#GenuineQuestion.” 

Others were equally unsympathetic, with many claiming that the Afghans were fleeing the imminent imposing of Sharia law in their own country, only to demand its implementation in their new home.

“They want Sharia law all over the world,” one person wrote, while Nupur J Sharma, editor of Indian right-wing news portal OpIndia, shared a meme suggesting that nobody wants to live in Afghanistan but they want to live under Sharia law in India. 

Shashank Shekhar Jha, an advocate at the Supreme Court of India, warned Indians not to accept Afghan migrants, noting: “Over 99.7 % population in Afghanistan is Muslim out of which 99% supports Sharia. Those who want India to bring Afghan’s back irrespective of their religion must remember this!” 

Author Anand Ranganathan concurred, claiming that Afghanistan had the greatest support for Sharia law out of any country. 

Others said they would not support calls to bring Afghans to India. “And the ones that are taken should be told in categorical terms that they cannot being their medieval horse s**t to India,” one Twitter user wrote. 

As Sharia trended on Twitter, some people condemned the anti-Muslim comments. Award-winning journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani claimed even the worst human tragedies are just an “opportunity” for India’s right wing. “Shame on you,” she wrote. 

Despite the obvious lack of support from Indian netizens, a small number of Afghans have already been flown to India. The BBC reported that an Air India plane left Kabul on Sunday with 129 people onboard, including Afghan officials, at least two MPs, and a senior adviser to the former president. 

World leaders have suggested that the Taliban’s takeover is likely to trigger widespread migration out of the war-torn nation.

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