Sikh man shot dead by unknown gunmen in Pakistan’s Peshawar city; suspects arrested

PTI, Jun 25, 2023, 2:32 PM IST

Pakistan police on Sunday arrested some suspects in connection with the murder of a Sikh man here who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen, in a probable case of targetted killing, police said.

Manmohan Singh, 35, was on his way to the interior city area of Peshawar from Rasheed Garhi, a suburban locality of Peshawar when some armed men attacked him near Guldara Chowk Kakshal, which comes under the jurisdiction of Yakka Toot police station.

This is the latest incident of targeted attacks against minority communities in Pakistan.

Though Singh was shifted to a hospital, he was pronounced dead by the doctors, police said.

Some suspects have been arrested in the murder of Singh, Ashfaq Anwar, the city police chief in Peshawar told reporters.

The police chief said that they are close to arresting the main accused involved in the murder.

Police have been directed to ensure the protection of life and property of law-abiding citizens in the province. They are investigating the case from different angles.

This is the second incident of armed attack on a Sikh man in the Yakka Toot area in the last 48 hours. A Sikh man was injured after he sustained bullet wounds on his legs on Friday.

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) is investigating the armed attack on Sikh trader Tarlok Singh who was injured in the attack on Friday.

The police believe that two attacks on Sikh men in Peshawar within 48 hours may be target killings but the real facts would come after thorough investigations.

A Sikh businessman was shot dead in the city by unknown assailants in March.

About 15,000 Sikhs live in Peshawar, mostly in the Jogan Shah neighbourhood of the provincial capital Peshawar.

Most of the members of the Sikh community in Peshawar are involved in business, while some also have pharmacies.

In September last year, a well-known Sikh ‘Hakeem’ (Unani medicine practitioner) was shot dead by unidentified gunmen inside his clinic in Peshawar.

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 National Assembly member Soren Singh was also killed in Peshawar. Hindus form the biggest minority community in the Muslim-majority country.

Muslims account for about 96 per cent of Pakistan’s 207 million population, Hindus 2.1 per cent and Christians about 1.6 per cent according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimates.

The majority of Pakistan’s 75-lakh Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions and language with their Muslim residents.