DTN News: Pakistan TODAY February 22, 2010 ~ Taliban Beheads Two Abducted Sikhs
*
Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - February 22, 2010: Two Sikhs who were kidnapped for ransom were beheaded by the Pakistani Taliban in the country’s restive
tribal belt.
Some more members of the minority community are still in the custody of the rebels.
The body of Jaspal Singh was found in the Khyber tribal region, located a short distance from the provincial capital of Peshawar, while the body of Mahal Singh was found in the Aurakzai Agency, sources told PTI.
There was some confusion about the total number of Sikhs kidnapped for ransom from the Bara area of the Khyber Agency by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
A source said four Sikhs were abducted while another report put the figure at six.
The Sikhs were kidnapped 34 days ago and the Taliban had demanded Rs. 30 million as ransom for their release.
The two were beheaded after the expiry of the deadline for the payment of the ransom, the sources said.
In New Delhi, the reports were received with shock, but there was no immediate comment by the government. “We are aware of these media reports. If it is true then it’s a matter of shock. We are ascertaining the facts,” official sources said.
In Amritsar, the SGPC condemned the beheading and asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take up the matter with his counterpart in Pakistan.
SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar told PTI: “The SGPC and the entire Sikh community strongly condemn the brutal murder of Sikhs in Pakistan.” He also demanded that the Prime Minister make immediate arrangements for an SGPC delegation to visit Pakistan to take stock of the situation.
BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Centre had been “callous” in not putting diplomatic pressure in time to get the abducted Sikhs released. Condemning the incident, he said this showed how minorities are treated in Pakistan.
Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - February 22, 2010: Two Sikhs who were kidnapped for ransom were beheaded by the Pakistani Taliban in the country’s restive 
tribal belt.
Some more members of the minority community are still in the custody of the rebels.
The body of Jaspal Singh was found in the Khyber tribal region, located a short distance from the provincial capital of Peshawar, while the body of Mahal Singh was found in the Aurakzai Agency, sources told PTI.
There was some confusion about the total number of Sikhs kidnapped for ransom from the Bara area of the Khyber Agency by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
A source said four Sikhs were abducted while another report put the figure at six.
The Sikhs were kidnapped 34 days ago and the Taliban had demanded Rs. 30 million as ransom for their release.
The two were beheaded after the expiry of the deadline for the payment of the ransom, the sources said.
In New Delhi, the reports were received with shock, but there was no immediate comment by the government. “We are aware of these media reports. If it is true then it’s a matter of shock. We are ascertaining the facts,” official sources said.
In Amritsar, the SGPC condemned the beheading and asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take up the matter with his counterpart in Pakistan.
SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar told PTI: “The SGPC and the entire Sikh community strongly condemn the brutal murder of Sikhs in Pakistan.” He also demanded that the Prime Minister make immediate arrangements for an SGPC delegation to visit Pakistan to take stock of the situation.
BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Centre had been “callous” in not putting diplomatic pressure in time to get the abducted Sikhs released. Condemning the incident, he said this showed how minorities are treated in Pakistan.
No comments:
Post a Comment