On January 30, Narain Das Bheel, Founder and Chief Organiser of the Hindu Organization of Sindh published a video on the social media platform Twitter where Sikhs of Jacobabad in Sindh, Pakistan could be heard narrating the incidents of atrocities they are facing. The Sikh individual identified as Harish Singh was allegedly abused and hackled by the Muslim community.
Jacobabad Sindh:
— Narain Das Bheel (@NarainDasBheel8) January 29, 2023
The resident of #Sikh Harish Singh Gurdwara says that I went to take my children to school and waited at the gate.I have come and I will take it away,on which they abused me and a Muslim threatened to kill me My daughters were very worried after hearing all this. pic.twitter.com/kUgIrKHZVr
In the video, Singh told that the incident took place when he was picking up his daughters from school. He was hackled and threatened to kill. The attackers also threatened to kill his daughters. Singh added that his daughters were afraid and refused to go to school.
Singh urged the locals to stand up for him and save him from the atrocities. He said, “I am pleading with the locals of Jacobabad with folded hands that on January 26 when I was coming back after picking up my daughters, there was a lot of crowd on the road. Bike-borne Muslims abused and threatened to kill me and my daughters. They hit my scooter. I suffered an injury in my leg. My daughters are worried. They are refusing to go to school.” He added that the Sikh community living in the area gave respect and votes to the Muslim leaders. He appealed to them and the local community to support him and save his family. Singh further added, “One fish should not be allowed to spoil the pond.”
Atrocities against Sikhs in Pakistan
Islamic extremists in Pakistan have made it extremely difficult for minorities to sustain a normal life. There have been several reports of abductions, forced conversions and killings of Sikhs along with other minorities in the country. OpIndia reported several incidents where Sikh women and young girls were abducted and converted to Islam.
Notably, in 2017, Sikhs were excluded from the census in Pakistan. This was the first time the minority group was not included in the census. The official number of Sikhs in the country is not available. However, as per an India Today report from February 2022, the population of Sikhs have come down to around 8,000 in 2022 compared to 40,000 in 2002. In just two decades, there has been around 80 per cent fall in the population of Sikhs in the country.
In August 2021, it was reported that Sikhs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa protested as Islamists forcibly converted a female Sikh teacher and perform her nikah. A young female teacher from the Sikh community was allegedly kidnapped on Saturday, and on the next day, her family was informed that the young girl is now married to a Muslim person. There is deep resentment in the Sikh community due to this incident.
Dina Kaur, a Sikh teacher was kidnapped on August 21, 2022. On the next day, her family members knew about the forced marriage and subsequent conversion. The family reached the police station where nobody cared to register their complaint. According to the family members, the local police have not registered any FIR and have asked the Sikhs to be silent on this issue.
In December 2022, The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) of Pakistan shut down Gurdwara Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh in Lahore for worship, declaring that it is a mosque. Pakistan’s ETPB, together with certain fundamental extremists, locked down the Gurdwara, infuriating the Sikh community. the controversy over the existence of the Gurdwara situated in Lahore has been long-running now. The Gurdwara was constructed in the place where Sikh fighter Bhai Taru Singh was executed in 1745 by the Mughals. The Gurdwara was built on the grounds where the Shaheed Ganj Mosque existed earlier. This has led to the dispute that continues even today.
No voice from pro-Khalistani elements against atrocities on Sikhs in Pakistan
Interestingly, despite continued attacks on Sikhs in Pakistan, pro-Khalistan elements like the terrorist organisation Sikhs For Justice, its founder Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, and Pakistani Sikh leader Gopal Singh Chawla have shown their pro-Pakistan mentality on several occasions. Pannu, who seek a separate Sikh nation, never talk about the Punjab which is part of Pakistan. He sought support from then-Imran Khan Government in the creation of Khalistan. Khalistani elements operating in India often get funding and ammunition from the neighbouring country.
Pro-Khalistani elements hardly ever talk against Pakistan. In fact, Pannu even claimed that the minority community is living “happily” in Pakistan. In a reply to Global Strat View on the inclusion of Pakistan’s Punjab in Khalistan, Pannu had said, “There are 20,000 or 25,000 Sikhs who are living happily and they call Pakistan their home.”
Not to forget, several wanted Khalistani terrorists are living in Pakistan. In September 2022, Gajinder Singh, the co-founder of the Khalistani terrorist organization Dal Khalsa and an accused hijacker of a 1981 Indian Airlines flight revealed his current location in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The revelation was made after he published a photograph of himself posing in front of a gurudwara on his Facebook profile. The gurudwara in the background was Gurudwara Shri Panja Sahib Ji, located in Hasan Abdal, Pakistan.
