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Sikhs demand stepped up security, release of kidnapped members
The brutal beheading of two Sikhs by the Taliban in Pakistan's restive tribal belt has sparked demands for adequate security for the minority community as they sought the release of other members kidnapped by the militants.
The brutal beheading of two Sikhs by the Taliban in Pakistan's restive tribal belt has sparked demands for adequate security for the minority community as they sought the release of other members kidnapped by the militants.
A day after the recovery of the beheaded bodies of Mahal Singh and Jaspal Singh in Pakistan’s tribal belt, a minority welfare official asked the government to provide security to the Sikhs living in the country's restive tribal belt.
Another two to four Sikhs are still being held by the Taliban.
Jaspal Singh was kidnapped over a month ago with two other Sikhs named Surjeet Singh and Gurvinder Singh from Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency.
Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) chairman Syed Asif Hashmi asked the Interior Ministry to provide adequate security to members of the Sikh community living in the Khyber tribal region.
"Even these minorities are Pakistanis," Hashmi said.
Leaders of Pakistan's Sikh community called on the government to negotiate with the Taliban for the safe release of other Sikh traders in the custody of the militants.
Pakistan Minority Council chairman Sardar Bishon Singh and Pakistan Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee chief Sardar Sham Singh said the federal and North West Frontier Province governments should hold talks with the Taliban for the release of abducted Sikhs.
