Peshawar: A Sikh businessman was shot dead on Friday by unknown assailants here, in the latest incident of targeted attacks against minority communities in Pakistan.
The incident took place at 3 pm when armed men on a motorcycle opened fire at Dayal Singh, a businessman in Peshawar’s Dir Colony area, police said.
The gunmen fled the scene after committing the crime, they said.
Police have collected 30 bore bullet shells from the site of the crime. CCTV footage from the shop has been obtained and the police have launched an investigation into the attack.
The Peshawar killing comes a day after a Hindu doctor was shot dead by unknown assailants in Karachi.
Last week, shopkeepers from the minority Hindu community were assaulted in the Sindh province for “allegedly violating the Ramzan ordinance,” according to the Express Tribune newspaper.
About 15,000 Sikhs live in Peshawar, mostly in the Jogan Shah neighbourhood of the provincial capital Peshawar.
Most of the members of the Sikh community in Peshawar are involved in business, while some also have pharmacies.
In September last year, a well-known Sikh hakeem’ (Unani medicine practitioner) was shot dead by unidentified gunmen inside his clinic in Peshawar.
In 2018, Charanjit Singh, a prominent Sikh community member, was killed by unknown men in Peshawar.
Similarly, news channel anchor Ravinder Singh was killed in 2020 in the city. In 2016, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf National Assembly member Soren Singh was also killed in Peshawar.
Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan.
According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in the Muslim-majority country.
Muslims account for about 96 per cent of Pakistan’s 207 million population, Hindus 2.1 per cent and Christians about 1.6 per cent according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimates.
The majority of Pakistan’s Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions and language with their Muslim residents.
The Ahmadis, Sikhs and Parsis are also among the notable religious minorities in Pakistan.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
