Sikh girl’s abduction, forceful marriage: DSGMC delegation meets Pak High commissioner in Delhi

The meeting took place at the High Commission of Pakistan, in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. The DSGMC, in a memorandum, demanded the formation of a special grievance cell for minorities, particularly Hindus and Sikhs, in Pakistan to provide them prompt justice.

A delegation of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) on Tuesday met the High Commissioner of Pakistan (political attache) Aizaz Khan in connection with the recent kidnapping, rape and forceful marriage of a Sikh girl in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

A delegation of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) led by DSGMC President Harmeet Singh Kalka with General Secretary Jagdip Singh Khalon and others leave after meeting with High Commissioner of Pakistan regarding kidnapping and forceful conversion of Sikh and Hindu girls, at Pakistan High Commission, in New Delhi on Monday. (Ishant Kumar)

The meeting took place at the High Commission of Pakistan, in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. The DSGMC, in a memorandum, demanded the formation of a special grievance cell for minorities, particularly Hindus and Sikhs, in Pakistan to provide them prompt justice.

“With a very heavy heart, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee is writing this memorandum to draw the kind attention of the Government of Pakistan toward the repeated incidents of atrocities on minorities, kidnapping of Hindu and Sikh girls and their forceful conversion to Islam and Nikah in Pakistan,” the memorandum read.

Kaur was kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam and made to do Nikah against her will. The police did not register FIR on the complaint of the victim’s family which led to a massive demonstration outside the police station. The incident shocked the Sikh community worldwide.

The memorandum highlighted, “When such incidents happen, it is generally noticed that local administration and police play a negative role and discriminate against Sikhs and try to hush up the matter.”

Slamming the Pakistani government, it read, “On the one hand, the Government of Pakistan boasts that Pakistan is a democratic country and treats all its citizens equally but on the other hand, atrocities are committed against minorities and gross violation of human rights is a matter of grave concern.”

In dismay over the outcome of the meeting, DSGMC president Harmeet Singh Kalka said, “We are not satisfied with the meeting. We are unhappy with the attitude of the diplomat, the way we were treated today. On the above sensitive matter, he said, the law will take its own course.”

He asserted, “If our demands are not met, we will raise this issue in front of the International Forum of Human Rights.”

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa earlier met the joint secretary of the Ministry of external affairs JP Singh and requested him to summon the Pakistan High Commissioner in this regard. “We have urged the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to raise the issue of security of minorities in Pakistan at a global level. JP Singh ji has assured us of quick action in this regard,” the BJP leader added.