Afghan Religious Minorities from other parts, all their weapons and grain and some 1,500 vehicles were taken, and only 60 of the 160 houses were left standing’.47 The Taliban also set ablaze a library in Pul-e-Khomri, which belonged to Ismailis. It is believed that the library contained 50,000 books.48 Post-Taliban In the post-Taliban era, things have not changed much in favour of the Ismailis. However, like other minorities, they have benefited from the general environment of security owing to the presence of the international community. Their economic situation also improved along with this security as institutions such as the Aga Khan Foundation, the non-profit development agency founded by the hereditary Imam of Shia Ismailis, could operate in areas inhabited by Ismailis. Systematic discrimination against the Ismailis still prevails and their access to facilities and essential services is very limited. They are barred, in practice, from holding government positions. For instance, in Doshi district of Baghlan province, where majority of the inhabitants are Ismailis, the district governor is the only Ismaili holding a senior position in the province; almost all other government staff are non-Ismailis.49 The Ismaili Shias also face severe societal discrimination from other Muslims, both Shia and Sunni. They have little communal interactions and intermarriages occur rarely. Ismailis are considered ‘unclean’ by ordinary Imami Shias.50 Hindu-Sikh The Hindu-Sikh form a very small percentage of the Afghan population. Though there is no precise data on their population, a report by Reuters details that there are fewer than 300 Hindu-Sikh families in the country at present, while as many as 250,000 Sikhs 47 ‘Afghanistan: Troubled Ismaili Homecoming—Afghanistan’, ReliefWeb, accessed November 11, 2019, https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/ afghanistan-troubled-ismaili-homecoming. 48 ‘Ketab Suzan-e Digar’ (The Other Book Burners), accessed November 11, 2019, http://www.khorasanzameen.net/php/read.php?id=1274. 49 Round Table Discussion: Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN), 02 October 2019, Kabul, Afghanistan. 50 Focus Group Discussion. Civil Society and Human Rights Network, 22 October 2019. 11