Minorities not safe in Pakistan: Defence expert

Defence expert P.K. Sehgal on Saturday expressed concern over the safety of minorities in Pakistan after leading Sikh activist and former president of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC), Dr. Swaran Singh, was shot dead by unidentified attackers in northwest Pakistan, and urged the Sikh community to move out of Khyber Pakhtunwala province, where the attacks against the minorities is on the rise.

Sehgal said minorities, especially those who are economically well-off, are ill-treated and threatened for money, adding that the money is then used to encourage terrorism and extremism.

"It is a very unfortunate incident. He has been shot down in Pakhtunwala, which is one of the most disturbed areas of Pakistan. This gentleman who has been shot down was one of the top individuals. He was well known, a renowned doctor , a politician and also an in-charge of Sikh community affairs. Every minority community, including the Sikhs who are reasonable well-off, are specifically being targeted in Pakhtunwala for the last two years," Sehgal told ANI here.

"Money is extorted from them, protection money is taken from doctors and lawyers, who are ill-treated to extract more money. Sikhs should move out of Pakhtunwala to other safe places in Pakistan," he added.

Earlier, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella organisation of various Sunni Islamist militant groups based in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) along the Afghan border in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the killing of Dr. Swaran Singh.

Singh, a leading Sikh activist and a member of the assembly of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, was murdered on Friday near Pir Baba in Buner district while going home after attending a political rally of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is home to a sizeable Sikh population. Singh was a member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the party led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan.

Sikhs in Pakistan's northwest have been targeted in the past by militant groups, including the Taliban. Several Sikhs have been kidnapped for ransom.