IS claims responsibility for Sikh man's murder in Pakistan; Captain Amarinder calls on MEA

The Islamic State (IS) group on October 1 claimed the responsibility for gunning down a member of Pakistan’s minority Sikh community earlier this week in the northwestern city of Peshawar. As reported by The Associated Press, the IS said in its statement issued late on Friday that 45-year-old Satnam Singh was a “polytheist”, adding that he was killed by the IS members. The IS claimed responsibility for Singh’s murder in the backdrop of Pakistani officials denying any organised presence of the terror group.

Just days after Satnam Singh’s death sent shock waves across the minority community living in Pakistan, the extremist group accepted its role in carrying out the crime as it did in several other cases. The Islamic State group has previously claimed attacks on security forces, mosques, political rallies and religious minorities in Pakistan. Police on September 30 said that Singh was shot dead in Peshawar which is the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan.

As per the Pakistani law enforcement, the unidentified gunmen managed to flee the scene. Satnam Singh was a herbalist and lived in the city for the past two decades. Reportedly, he even ran a small clinic and sold herbal medicine. Sardar Harpal Singh, a local community leader, as per AP, said that the assailants opened fire at Singh inside his clinic.

While Sardar Harpal Singh and Satnam Singh are not related, the local community leader denounced the incident and demanded the arrest of those involved in the murder of the herbalist. Most of the Sikhs migrated to India in 1947 when the British rule ended in the country, but some of them still live in neighbouring Pakistan. In recent years, the attacks against minorities living in Pakistan have drastically increased including those against Sikhs. 

Amarinder Singh calls on MEA to take up the issue

Amid panic caused by Satnam Singh’s death inside his cabin, former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on October 1 called on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to take up the issue. Amarinder Singh expressed grief over the “brutal murder” of the herbalist in Peshawar and stated that such a gruesome attack against the Sikh minority in Pakistan “cannot be tolerated.” The former Punjab CM demanded MEA take up Singh’s murder at the “highest level” and also to ensure justice. 

IMAGE: PTI/Representative