Raise Issue of Atrocities against Sikhs in Pak in UN : Akali Dal to MEA S. Jaishankar
S. Jaishankar
Citing the recent incident of stoning and attack by a mob on Gurudwara Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of first Sikh guru Guru Nanak Dev, the SAD (Shiromani Akali Dal) chief said that if anybody could assault and stone the holy shrine, then no minority is safe in Pakistan.
The SAD President- Sukhbir Badal in a statement also appealed to MEA Dr. S. Jaishankar to raise the matter of atrocities being done by Pakistan against minorities in the United Nations.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday appealed to External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar to ask for a uncompromising guarantee from Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan that possessions and lives of minorities would be sheltered and that all those guilty for the hate attack on Sikhs as well as stoning of Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib would be detained and given commendable punishment.
Badal also demanded from Jaishankar to lift the issue of atrocities being carried out by Pakistan against minorities in the United Nations, the party said in a report. He also claimed that as per the 2002 census, 40,000 Sikhs in Pakistan have been decreased to 5,000 in numbers. This is clear evidence of forced conversions in Pakistan.
The SAD delegation members also told Jaishankar that the recent happenings in Pakistan had hurt the sentiments of the Sikh community worldwide and the Sikhs living in Pakistan had already stated that they were feeling apprehensive.
Later, the External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar call upon Pakistan’s Charge d’ affairs Syed Haider Shah and lodged a strong objection over the alleged violation of Gurdwara Nankana Sahib near Lahore and murder of a Sikh youth in Peshawar.
