SGPC condemns killing of Sardar Swaran Singh in KPK province

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Saturday strongly condemned killing of Sardar Swaran Singh who held one of several seats reserved for religious minorities in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly.

"This heinous act of Tehreek-e-Taliban is highly deplorable. The Pakistan Government should take strict action against them and the culprits must get booked," SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar told ANI.

"It is the responsibility of the Pakistan government to provide security to the Sikh Community residing there. If a leader of a community can be shot down so easily, then what is the safety for a common man in Pakistan," he added.

The SGPC president further said the Indian government should take a notice of these attacks on minorities in Pakistan.

Singh, a leading Sikh activist and a member of the assembly of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, was shot dead by unidentified attackers in northwest Pakistan on Friday, according to media reports.

Singh, who was a special assistant on minorities to the provincial chief minister, was attacked outside his home in Pir Baba area of Buner district, the media reports said.

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.