Threatened: ‘Around 12 Sikhs lost their lives to terror in recent months’

Sardar Gopal Singh says majority have to shut their businesses down

PESHAWAR: Sardar Gopal Singh, a representative from the Sikh community, said around a dozen Sikhs have fallen victim to acts of terror over the past few months. He was speaking at a meeting arranged by South Asia Partnership Pakistan in the city on Thursday.

“Many have been forced to shut their businesses down and leave areas that they have inhabited for decades,” he said. According to Gopal, a majority of his community members find it difficult to spiral out of the cycle of poverty and state policies are hardly helpful.

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Additional Secretary Israr Mohammad Khan represented the Minister for Law Imtiaz Shahid Qureshi at the moot. Speaking on the occasion, Israr said the government has adopted two bills that will directly address some of the fundamental problems faced by minorities in the province. He added the law department, with help from other departments, is already working on the implementation of these bills.



Several minority representatives were invited to talk about the problems faced by their communities. During his address, Christian representative Augustin Jacob said most Christians in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa find it hard to break through the glass ceiling when it comes to jobs at government and semi-government departments. He said almost everyone agrees over the removal of hate material from textbooks, which is taught to children from an early age.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2015.