OUR CORRESPONDENT
MARDAN: Punjab Minister for Minority Affairs Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora has urged the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to uncover the motives behind the brutal murder of a Sikh couple in Mardan and ensure the protection of minority communities and their places of worship across the province.
He said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police should also assess the mental health and conduct of its personnel to help prevent similar incidents in the future.
Speaking at a press conference in Mardan alongside minority MPA Suresh Kumar and Pakistan Muslim League-N district president Syed Inayat Shah Bacha, Mr Sungh expressed concern over the killing and called for a thorough investigation into all aspects of the case.
Earlier, he met Mardan DIG Qasim Ali Khan and DPO Masood Ahmed and discussed the investigation and progress made so far. He also attended a prayer ceremony at the gurdwara, met the daughter of the deceased couple and expressed his condolences.
Mr Singh said a sizeable Sikh community had once lived in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but its population had been steadily declining due to various circumstances. He added that the incident in Babu Mohallah, Mardan, had not only damaged Pakistan’s international image but had also received extensive coverage in global media, causing concern and anger among Sikhs around the world.
He said the DIG and DPO had assured him that the arrested suspect was being investigated on merit and would be brought to justice in accordance with the law. However, he stressed that investigators should broaden the scope of the inquiry to determine all possible motives and factors behind the crime.
Questioning the provincial government, the minister asked why such incidents were occurring in the province and to what extent the government was fulfilling its responsibility to protect citizens, particularly minorities. He said the case could not be dismissed as merely the act of an individual and required a comprehensive investigation into all its dimensions.
Mr Ramesh further called for individuals holding extremist views to be kept away from minority places of worship. He said strict action should be taken against any police officer found to be promoting or sympathising with extremist ideologies while serving in the force.
He also demanded full security for the family of the slain Sikh couple as well as for those who played a role in registering the case.
Praising the Sikh community in Mardan, Mr Singh said that despite their grief and anguish, community members had not resorted to protests or violence, which he described as commendable. He noted that attacks on minorities in any part of the country affected the image of Pakistan as a whole.
He urged both the federal and provincial governments to adopt a joint strategy to eliminate terrorism and extremism and to make the protection of all citizens, regardless of their faith, a top priority.
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