LAHORE: Investigations into the February 21, 2010 beheading of an abducted Skih citizen of Pakistan in the Khyber Agency tribal area of the country shows that the kidnappers belonged to the Taliban-linked banned jehadi organisation – Lashkar-e-Islami – which had earlier been involved in charging from the minority communities of the tribal areas the minority specific tax in exchange for ensuring their security.
Those investigating the barbaric murder of Jaspal Singh fear the militants might also kill the remaining two abducted Sikhs one by one as the deadline set for the payment of ransom money had already expired on February 20. Their efforts to recover the abducted minority members have so far failed to produce results. The beheaded body of Jaspal Singh was found on February 21 by his relatives in the Jarobi area of Landikotal Tehsil in Khyber Agency. He was abducted along with Sarjeet Singh and Gurendal Singh in Akakhel Mathra area in Bara Tehsil last month. Later, the family of Jaspal Singh received a ransom demand for 20 million rupees ($235,000) to be paid by last Sunday. However, his dead body was found when members of his family arrived in the area on Sunday to negotiate his release.
Sikhs and Hindus are tiny communities living in Pakistan even before partition. But since the beginning of 2009, hundreds of them living in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of the country have fled their homes after receiving death threats from the Lashkar-e-Islami militants in an increasingly unstable northwest. Led by the most wanted Taliban-linked Commander Mangal Bagh, the Lashkar-e-Islami gun totting militants in the Khyber Agency act like policemen, claim extortion money, enforce prayers five times a day and punish people accused of prostitution and other vices. After the US troops invaded Afghanistan in 2001, Taliban and al-Qaeda ideologues fled to Pakistan, where they have increasingly focused their campaign and where 2,000 people have perished in bomb attacks over the past two years. Pakistan army launched a major offensive in the northwest this summer, under pressure from the US, after Taliban fighters made deep territorial inroads.
Analysts say the Taliban militants need an endless supply of funds to buy their weapons, communications and training. Thus, they are resorting to kidnappings for ransom and sale of drugs to make money. As a matter of fact, many of the Sikhs living in the Pakistani tribal areas are rich people and mostly trade in cloth besides running grocer, garment and herbal medicine shops. However, circles close to the Lashkar-e-Islami have denied involvement in the abduction and beheading of Jaspal Singh, saying they don’t believe in killing peaceful minority members. The fact, however, remains that the Sikhs, Hindus, and Christians living in the country’s tribal belt bordering Afghanistan are made to pay the minority specific tax in exchange for their security. The jazia tax on non-Muslims had been imposed at the rate of Rs1, 000 per year per person. Over 10,000 Sikhs, Hindus and Christians currently live in the Khyber Agency. Many of the Sikhs living in the Orakzai and Khyber regions own businesses or farms, but the minority community has come under increasing pressure as the influence of Islamist militants has grown in the area.
Meanwhile, while refuting reports that Jaspal Singh was beheaded by Islamic militants following his refusal to convert to Islam, the Pakistan government has stoutly condemned the ugly episode, saying it was an isolated incident and the prime motive of the abductors was to claim ransom. Stating that the culprits would be taken to task come what may, the foreign office spokesman in Islamabad said the government would take all possible steps to ensure the safety of the minority community members in the trouble stricken NWFP province. The spokesman refuted reports that after his beheading, Jaspal’s severed head was sent to Bhai Joga Singh Gurdwara in Peshawar. “As a matter of fact, the beheaded body of Jaspal Singh was found on February 21 by his relatives at an abandoned plot in the Jarobi area of Landikotal Tehsil in Khyber Agency”, he added.
In the meantime, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has strongly condemned the bloody killing of a Sikh national who was kidnapped along with two others by the Taliban-linked Lashkar-e-Islami militants in NWFP. Zardari has further ordered the ministry of interior to investigate the incident and take stern action against the kidnappers in accordance with the law of the land. He directed that measures should be taken by the concerned departments to avoid such incidents in the future. Moreover, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has strongly denounced the beheading and said his government would do whatever it can for safety and security of the minority community. “We are equally concerned. We condemn that strongly. The militants are inhuman. They have no distraction between individuals, ethnicities or religions regardless”, Qureshi said to a group of reporters in Beijing. He further added that Sikhs were connected to Pakistan because of their holy places of worship that are situated in Pakistan, “We have great regard for them and will do whatever we can for their security and want them to visit Pakistan.
The Foreign Minister’s statements apart, in reality, the Pakistani authorities have sliced the three day visit of Sikh pilgrims to Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasanabdal city of Punjab province and have reduced it to one day only. The Sikhs had religious rituals to perform at the said Gurdwara and were earlier scheduled to stay in Hasanabdal for three days and celebrate Nankana Sahib’s anniversary with religious fervor. According to Pakistan Minority Council Chairman Sardar Bishon Singh, who is also a member of Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), this anniversary was being celebrated for the second time only since partition of the subcontinent. “The pilgrims realize it is for their security but still on such an important occasion, shortening of the visit can only be taken with a pinch of salt.” Sardar Bishon Singh also insists that the Pakistani government authorities should negotiate with the Taliban leaders for the release of the innocent Sikhs that were in line for beheading like the previous two.
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