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Mumbai Sikhs
Outraged, appeal to Pak ambassador
Demands High Level delegation visit and
exmplary compensation
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Angry and benumbed at the killing and abduction of Sikhs in
Pakistan at the hands of marauding thugs, who are looting and
killing Sikhs, Hindus and even Muslims too in the North West
Frontier Province of Peshawar area of Pakistan, Sri Guru Singh
Sabha Mumbai has written to Mr. Shahid Mailk, the High
Commissioner of Pakistan in India seeking immediate cessation of
violence against the Sikhs in Pakistan by the Taliban. The full
text of the letter is as follows: |
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His
Excellency Mr. Shahid Malik
High Commissioner for Pakistan in India
New Delhi
His
Excellency Mr. Shahid Malik
The Sikh
community of Mumbai is deeply concerned over the barbaric
decapitation of Jaspal Singh, a resident of Dabagree Garden,
Peshawar. According to information gathered by United Sikhs –a UN
affiliated Sikh body, he was one of the three Sikhs who were
abducted by Pakistan Taliban approximately 41 days ago and held for
ransom. According to them, two more abductees Gurvinder Singh and
his uncle Surjeet Singh are reported to be still in the custody of
the Taliban, pending the payment of ransom by their families.
These three
Sikhs were on a family visit to Khyber Agency when the Taliban
kidnapped them on the Chora Tanga Akaakhel area on 21 January 2010.
Fearful of the repercussions, the Sikh community there did not
report this incident either to the authorities or to the media and
were bargaining to secure their release by paying up what they could
as the amount of Rupees 20 million was far too high for them.
As we write
to you, there is news that another Sikh has been abducted in the
North West Frontier Province. Robin Singh –a computer engineer from
the Swat valley has been abducted from the University Road, near
Nowshera, and it is feared that may be more are in the captivity of
the Taliban. There is another report that a Pakistani Hindu man has
also been kidnapped. There is a genuine fear amongst the Sikhs that
perhaps the number of those kidnapped may be higher than is known to
the world.
Whether
these acts were for obtaining Jaziya or for forcible conversion to
Islam, Sri Guru Singh Sabha (Regd.) Mumbai strongly condemns these
heinous acts and appeals to the Taliban groups to stop all offensive
against the Sikhs.
Sikhs
living in the Tirah valley of Khyber agency, with business interests
in Peshawar, Hangu, Swat and other parts of the tribal belt are
living in the shadow of fear and repression of the Taliban for long
without the effective intervention of the government of Pakistan.
The killing
of the Jaspal Singh has sent shock waves within the community. The
warmth with which Sikh Jathas are received in Pakistan at the time
of Gurpurabs and other Sikh festivals has always been appreciated
and applauded by the Sikhs and they could never imagine that history
would take such a turn and that too for those Sikhs, who in the
worst scenario of 1947, chose to stay back in their home and hearth,
despite their tiny numbers.
We believe that it is time for diplomatic and political dialogue. We
do not want to resort to rhetoric and would urge your government to
initiate fresh and immediate steps to ensure safety of life and
property of Sikhs. Without any delay, the Pakistan Embassy in India
must inform the Sikh world of the true status of the Sikhs in NWFP
in particular and in Pakistan in general. The exact number and
identity of those brutally killed and the steps taken by the
Pakistan government must be known to the Sikhs across the world.
We take
some solace from the fact that Janab Asif Ali Zardari -the President
of Pakistan has condemned the incident and “has ordered the
authorities to apprehend the culprits to prevent its recurrence.”
It is
equally comforting to know that your government’s Minister for
Minorities, Janab Shahbaz Bhatti has ordered a high-level enquiry
and has promised that whoever is involved will be severely punished.
It is significant that he has stated that, “we pledge to protect
minorities in Pakistan. The Sikhs living here belong to Pakistan and
Pakistan belongs to them. We respect everyone’s religious freedom.”
The
government of Pakistan must follow up their promises without delay
and take effective action to ensure the safety of those in
captivity, as the shattered confidence of the Sikhs needs immediate
succour. We request your government to allow a delegation of Sikhs
to visit Peshawar and NWFP, to enable them to talk to all concerned.
The
exorbitant Jaziya tax being imposed by the Taliban groups is not
only unfair but un-Islamic as well. Sri Guru Singh Sabha Mumbai
requests your government to pay exemplary compensation –more than
what was demanded by the Taliban to the families of the deceased and
intervene immediately to save the lives of those abducted recently.
Muslim
groups which are part of the Civil Liberties Monitoring committee,
based in Hyderabad in India have expressed “deep concern over the
violation of human rights in Pakistan and has termed the beheading
of two Sikhs after kidnapping them as an inhuman act and grave
violation of Islamic teachings on which Pakistan was established.”
Echoing the demands of all civilized society, the Committee has
demanded that, “the Government of Pakistan should take appropriate
measures to provide special protection to the minorities in Pakistan
and restore their confidence and should ensure their safety and
security”
Sri Guru
Singh Sabha Mumbai appreciates the reported stand of Asif Bhatti, an
Awami National Party (ANP) legislator in the NWFP assembly, who has
said that, “We will up take the issue in the House." Condemning the
cold-blooded murder of two Sikhs who were abducted by Taliban
militants in the Khyber tribal agency, Bhatti appealed to the
president to ensure that the killers are brought to a court of law
and given exemplary punishment.
Almost a
year ago, the homes of 35 families in the Orakazai Agency in
Pakistan’s NWFP were burnt down and according to newspaper reports,
apart from temporary relief, nothing much was done for the Sikhs and
other minorities who were uprooted.
We
understand that these are difficult times, but it is in times like
these that good and effective governance is required and we urge
your government’s positive and quick intervention, as the situation
has all the portents to go out of hands, harming the cause of peace,
pluralism and centuries-old bond of affinity between communities.
Sincerely
Kulwant Singh
General Secretary
Sri Guru Singh Sabha (Regd.) Mumbai
25
February 2010
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