The Sikh community from Hangu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) in Pakistan raised concerns after being forced to convert to Islam by a government official.
Community leaders lodged a complaint with the deputy commissioner claiming that an Assistant Commissioner Tehsil Tall Yaqoob Khan was allegedly forcing Sikhs to convert to Islam, reported The Express Tribune.
"We the residents of Doaba area are being tortured religiously... The Constitution empowers us to defend our religious beliefs against anyone and we want you to call AC Tall Yaqoob Khan and inquire the issue," the complaint read.
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh tweeted to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, urging her to take up the issue with Pakistan. "We cannot allow the Sikh community to be victimised in such a manner. It's our duty to help protect the Sikh identity and the Ministry of External Affairs should pursue the matter at the highest level," he said.
“It is the responsibility of the Indian authorities to intervene in the matter and ensure that the said coercion is brought to an end.
“We are duty-bound to protect the identity of Sikhs, wherever they may be living,” Amarinder said in an official release here.
Describing the incident as “religious torture”, the Punjab Chief Minister said it was a serious matter, especially since the so-called “forced conversions” were allegedly being spearheaded by a government official.
“Religious freedom is the right of every human being and should be upheld by all countries in the larger interest of humanity,” the 75-year-old chief minister added.
Request @SushmaSwaraj ji to take up this issue with Pakistan. We cannot allow the Sikh community to be victimised in such a manner. It’s our duty to help protect the Sikh identity and the @MEAIndia should pursue the matter at the highest levels.https://t.co/sRFjV1pk5Q
— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) December 19, 2017
External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday expressed concern over reports of Sikhs being forced to convert to Islam in Pakistan's Hangu district and said she will take up the matter with Islamabad at the earliest.
"We will take this up at the highest level with Government of Pakistan. Sikh community in Hangu being forced to convert," she said on Twitter, tagging the official handle of the Indian High Commission in Pakistan in the tweet.
We will take this up at the highest level with Government of Pakistan. @IndiainPakistan
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) December 19, 2017
Sikh community in Hangu ‘being forced to convert’ https://t.co/HiWuVmBzbj
District Nazim Hangu for minority Farid Chand Singh, who filed the complaint, said that it would not have affected them had it been someone ‘ordinary’. “When you hear such things from a government official, it becomes something really serious,” Singh told The Express Tribune.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Hangu Shahid Mehmood said the Sikh community members got offended during a conversation with the assistant commissioner, which the latter never really meant.
He further added that there is no such issue of converting someone forcefully to Islam, rather administration ensured religious freedom.
