 "Sikhs in Pakistan panicky after being asked to give personal details")
File Photo New Delhi: Sikhs in Pakistan are panicky after they were told to furnish details of their residence, contact number and other information to the local police in order to make security arrangements for them.
Zee Media accessed an audio message which reveals that the Sikhs of Lahore and Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Sikh’s first master Guru Nanak Dev were asked to submit their credentials with Pakistan’s Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB).
Confirming the same, Ranjit Singh, Granthi of Gurdwara Guru Ramdas Ji, Chuna Mani, Lahore sent out a voice message alerting the Sikhs to remain vigilant and not stay out of their homes late at night.
Echoing with Ranjit Singh, former member of the PSGPC Maninder Singh also issued an audio message in Pashto while requiting Sikhs in Pakistan to remain vigilant.
“After the culmination of daily evening Diwan at Gurdwara Dera Sahib, an announcement was made by ETPB officials that Sikhs living in Lahore and Nankana Sahib have received life threats so they should submit their details including residential address, contact numbers etc with the police so that necessary security measures could be taken,” said Ranjit Singh in the audio message which went viral on the internet.
The Granthi has also asked the Sikhs to not panic and urged them to give their documents to Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC), ETPB or Muhammad Azhar, caretaker of Gurdwara Dera Sahib.
While confirming that many Sikhs had given their relevant documents to police, a Sikh resident of Lahore who runs a cloth shop said, “Even policemen come to our shops asking for the documents.”
The majority of Sikhs in Lahore and Nankana Sahib are either businessmen or hakims.
Meanwhile, Gopal Singh Chawla, a prominent Sikh leader of Pakistan, while confirming the audio messages, claimed that the Sikhs in Pakistan are safe and the government in Pakistan is keeping safe their religious places and their lives.
Recently, one of the holiest shrines of Sikhs in Pakistan, the Nankana Sahib, was attacked by a mob led by Imran Chishti. In another incident, a Sikh girl from Nankana Sahib was allegedly abducted and convert to Islam and made to marry a Muslim man in Pakistan.
Besides that, there several incidents where the Sikh community in Pakistan were targeted, including the killing of Sawarn Singh, former PSGPC President, Charanjit Singh from Peshawar and Jaspal Singh of KPK who was beheaded by terrorists. Last year more than 25 Sikhs were killed by terrorists in Afghanistan.
Sources in Pakistan informed Zee News that there appears to be a connection between demanding details of Sikhs by Pakistan police and the arrest of a couple of terrorists aligned with proscribed organizations based in Afghanistan.
Another member of the Sikh community in Pakistan said, “There is a considerable number of Sikh living in Pakistan who speak the Pashto language as many of them have migrated from Afghanistan and living in KPK, Pashawer and Nanakana Sahib.”
That was the reason why Maninder Singh released the messages in Pashto.
When contacted Dr. Aamer Ahmad, Chairman, ETPB, he vehemently denied having received life threat to Sikhs. “There is no such issue in Pakistan,” he replied.
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