Panic among Peshawar Sikhs after IS-K claim

Story by  IANS | Posted by  Aasha Khosa • 2 Years ago
Hakeen Satnam Singh's relatives with Police
Hakeen Satnam Singh's relatives with Police

 

New Delhi

There is panic among the Sikh families living in Pakistani city of Peshawar after the Islamic State-Khorasan, an affilitate of the ISIS, claimed responsibility for killing a local Sikh, who had been living there for 20 years with his family.

Some 1,500 Sikhs continue to live in the city’s Sikh quarter Jogan Shah, a small fraction of their original population in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northeast city bordering Afghanistan.

According to Pakistani newspaper Dawn, an IS statement issued late Friday described Satnam Singh, 45, as polytheist and said he was shot dead by IS members.

The Islamic State made the claim on social media. It said its fighters had killed Satnam Singh Khalsa, the 45 year old Hakeen, a practitioner of Unnani medicine.

Hakeen Satnam Singh was shot by two men inside his clinic. He had received four bullets and is believed to have died in his clinic on the spot.

It may be mentioned that the ISIS-K had stepped up its attacks in several Afghan cities since the Taliban seized power in Kabul on August 15. It also claimed the deadly suicide attack at Kabul airport on August 26 that killed nearly 170 Afghans and 13 US military personnel.

According to Punjab Police, Singh had arrived in Peshawar from Hassan Abdaal a day earlier.

Singh, a well-known figure in the Sikh community, was running his clinic ‘Dharmandar Pharmacy' on Charsadda Road in Peshawar. He had been living in the city for the past 20 years.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan strongly condemned the killing of Singh and directed the police to take immediate steps to arrest the killers.

In 2018, Charanjit Singh, a prominent Sikh community member, was killed by unknown men in Peshawar. Similarly, news channel anchor Ravinder Singh was killed in 2020 in the city. In 2016, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf's National Assembly member Soren Singh was killed in Peshawar.

According to the 2017 census, Hindus constitute the largest religious minority in Pakistan. Christians make up the second-largest religious minority. The Ahmadis, Sikhs, and Parsis are also among the notable religious minorities in Pakistan

The ISK also poses threat to some 800 Sikhs who continue to live in Kabul awaiting their departure to other countries, mainly Canada.