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Indian-origin Labour leader killed in Kabul attack
Indian-origin Labour leader Dhamender Singh Phangurha, better known as Del Singh, was one of two Britons and 21 victims killed in a suicide attack yesterday in a restaurant in Kabul, official sources said here today.
Indian-origin Labour leader Dhamender Singh Phangurha, better known as Del Singh, was one of two Britons and 21 victims killed in a suicide attack yesterday in a restaurant in Kabul, official sources said here today.
Singh and Simon Chase were the two Britons killed among 13 foreigners and eight Afghans. Four United Nations (UN) staff were among the deceased. The Foreign Office confirmed the deaths of Chase and Singh, who was born and raised in Southamptom.
Del Singh was the Labour candidate for the forthcoming European Parliament elections in the South East. He worked in the area of international development, managing projects funded by the UN, the European Union and the Department for International Development in the Middle East.
Labour leader Ed Miliband paid tributes to Singh. “My thoughts – and the thoughts of the whole Labour Party – are with the family and friends of Del Singh who was killed in yesterday’s tragic suicide bomb in Kabul.”
He added: “Del spent over ten years carrying out vital work on development projects in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Sudan, Sierra Leone and other countries. He dedicated his life to working with people across the world who needed his support.”
Party general secretary Iain McNicol praised Singh and said: “Del Singh was a committed and passionate campaigner who wanted to improve the lives of people in conflict zones and those of people closer to home. Del will be missed by everyone in the Labour Party who has worked and campaigned alongside him for over two decades. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.”
Labour sources said besides his candidature for the European Parliament elections, Singh was a mentor for the long-term unemployed in Hampshire, helped out at a homeless charity in London, served on the Board of Care International and was co-ordinator of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East.
