'Take strong action against attackers of Sikhs in Pak'

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said New Delhi has requested Pakistan to take strong measures to stop atrocities unleashed against a "handful" of the community members left in the neighbouring country.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said New Delhi has requested Pakistan to take strong measures to stop atrocities unleashed against a "handful" of the community members left in the neighbouring country.

HT Image

"Recently, you have heard the atrocities being unleashed on the handful of Sikhs left in Pakistan. Indian Government has requested Pakistan to initiate strong measures to stop such atrocities," Singh said.

The Prime Minister was addressing an election rally in west Delhi's Hari Nagar, where a sizeable population of Sikhs reside, wooing voters to exercise their franchise in favour of Congress.

His comments came in the backdrop of incidents of Sikhs being attacked in Pakistan and asked to pay "protection money".

Reports said that Sikhs are being asked to pay Jaziya (protection tax imposed on non-Muslims under Shariah law) and houses of 11 Sikh families were destroyed after they failed to pay Rs 50 million each when the deadline expired on April 29.

Referring to the lack of peace and stability in India's neighbourhood like Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka, Singh said India can be affected by these factors and only Congress has the experience to deal with such challenges.