Two Sikh men were shot dead in Peshawar city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan Sunday, local sources said. The local Sikh community identified the deceased as shopkeepers Ranjit Singh, 42, and Kuljeet Singh, 38. They were sitting at their shops at Batta Tal Chowk in Sarband area when two unidentified men arrived on a motorbike and opened fire, the sources said. Satwant Singh, member of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC), said it appeared to be a case of “targeted killings”. “Both were turbaned Sikhs who were sitting at their shops. The killers came on a bike and opened fire. It seems like a case of targeted killing,” he said. This is the second incident against the minority community in Peshawar in the last eight months. In September last year, a Sikh shopkeeper, Satnam Singh, was shot dead at his dawakhana (traditional medicine shop) in Peshawar. The Islamic State’s Afghanistan affiliate, dubbed Islamic State Khorasan or ISIS-K, had claimed responsibility for the killing. After the killings on Sunday, the local Sikh community in Peshawar blocked Grand Trunk Road and took out a march demanding justice and protection from the government. They also demanded adequate compensation for the families of both deceased. The slogans of "Jo bole so nihaal.. Sat Sri Akal", "Stop targeted killings" and "We want justice" reverberated during the protest march. Speaking to The Indian Express, Balbir Singh, a local gurdwara sewadar-cum-school teacher, said that "enough was enough and now local Sikh community settled in Peshawar had no patience left to tolerate more of such targeted killings". "No Sikh family here in Peshawar has any personal enmity or grudge against anyone. We all are poor people who just go for work every morning but we and our families live in this constant fear if we will return home alive in the evening or not. Killers come, barge into our shops, put guns to our heads and simply shoot. There is no fear of any law and order. Sikhs are shot dead simply because they are religious minorities. This persecution of Sikhs has to stop. Each Sikh living in Pakistan loves their country very much, we are proud of being Pakistanis but then our people are being shot dead every other day without any fear. Humein Pakistan se mohabbat hai par hum yahaan aman se rehna chahte hain (We love Pakistan but we want to live here in peace)," said Balbir, adding that there were around 500 Sikh families settled in Peshawar who mostly run spices, grocery and medicines shops. Local Sikh community members while requesting anonymity said that since 2014 there have been at least 10 such incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when unidentified accused came and targeted Sikhs, while some of them were injured, others lost lives. "Dr Soran Singh in 2016, Charanjit Singh in 2018, Ravinder Singh in 2020 and Satwant Singh in 2021. the list is endless. Sikh minority group members are being persecuted in Pakistan but there's no action and no fear," said a local Sikh. Speaking to The Indian Express, Ameer Singh, president, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC), said that there are just 15,000-20,000 Sikhs left in Pakistan of whom around 500 families were settled in Peshawar alone. "Both our brothers who have been murdered today were from financially weaker families and used to earn their livelihoods by running small grocery shops. They were sitting at their shops when two men on a motorbike barged inside and shot them in the head. Pakistan is our motherland, like everyone else we love our country." Condemning the murders, Ameer added: "On behalf of each Sikh living in Pakistan, we condemn the incident and appeal to the government of Pakistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that the accused should be arrested immediately. They should be given the harshest possible punishment. Each Sikh living in Pakistan loves our country and wants to live here peacefully. Those forces which are trying to harm Sikh-Muslim unity in Pakistan should be exposed immediately. Earlier too, many Sikhs have been killed this way. We would like to tell the government of Pakistan that each Sikh living in this country is a true patriot and loves our country but when such incidents happen, it doesn't send a good message to the world. please protect the minorities and their right to live peacefully in Pakistan."
