Sikh man killed in a targeted attack in Peshawar

Asia, Crime

A Sikh man was killed late Saturday night in a targeted attack in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. 25-year-old Ravinder Singh of Chakesar had gone wedding shopping in Peshawar when he was targeted by unknown assailants.

According to Police, After shooting Singh, the killer made a phone call to his family, notifying them of the attack and his death.

Ravinder Singh was the brother of prominent journalist and news presenter Harmeet Singh, who in 2018 became Pakistan’s first news anchor from the Sikh community.

Anguished by the murder of his brother, Harmeet said that “without minorities, no country can flourish and progress. Pakistan is beautiful because of minorities but each year, we end up carrying the dead on our shoulders”.

Pakistan, he said, gets massive funds from several countries to protect minorities.

“But there is no protection. That’s why I am here to carry my dead brother’s body today. I won’t rest until the Pakistani government arrests the murderers of my brother,” he added.

Speaking to the media Ravinder’s friend Manmeet Kaur said:

He had just come back home from Malaysia and gone to Peshawar to shop for his upcoming wedding when he was targeted.

The attack comes just two days after a mob attacked one of Sikhism’s holiest Shrine, the Gurdwara Nankana Sahib in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs quickly reacted to the news and said it “strongly” condemned the “targeted killing of minority Sikh community” and urged Pakistan to stop “prevaricating and take immediate action to apprehend and give exemplary punishment to the perpetrators of these heinous acts.”