Sikh families leave Orakzai after Taliban demand jizia

[Hutchroy]

HUTCHROY....for 60 years they lived in this area no one cared no one even knew....and all of a sudden a common enemy of pakistan and sikhs does something and poor INDIA COMES to its aid...i say first try JAGDISH TYTLER....and all those responsible for 1984 sikh killings...

Zob,

The Sikhs have lived in what is now Pakistan for possibly Three Hundred Years and the Hindus & Jains had lived possibly Two Thousand Years or more but that did not stop them from being got rid of in August 1947.

Since it is in India Jagdish Tytler (I believe he is a Christian) will get his just Desserts as in India the Perpetrators of Genocide do not get away without being punished for their actions whereas ELSEWHERE they not only get off scot free but are not even condemned or even asked as to why they perpetrated such Genocide. 1971 and Balochistan under Gen. Tikka Khan (I believe the figure was of the order of 10,000) come to mind.

After all we all have our "Crosses" to bear and one roundly & wholeheartedly condemns any sectarian or other unlawful killing in India or destructions of place of Worship even though they may be in a derelict condition.

May be you will also "Protest" about the Hundreds of Sikh, Hindu & Jain places of Worship which have met an unfortunate fate in Pakistan.

Do not blame the People - it is the LEADERSHIP.

 

[Hellfire]

Like i said no one knew that sikhs resided in Pakistan specially in ORAKZAI or anywhere....however in 62 years a common enemy of PAKISTANIS(including pakistani sikhs) comes and hurts a common pakistani(sikh) and it is given a ethnic spin....great work....how much the indians try to make it a big issue these pakistanis are patriotic and don't look at their religion...as for sikh's gabaar you might know that alot of sikhs comes to pakistan for pilgrimage and none of them ever have anything to worry about....infact last time they met the Prime minster inorder to thank him and the PAKISTANI government....so my fellow indians cry as you may but this is a PAKISTANI issue all pakistanis have a common enemy regardless of their religious orientations...!!

Zob

We appreciate your position and agree that its an exclusively internal affair of Pakistan and as such GoI is wrong to intervene.

There is no "humanitarian crisis" directly or indirectly affecting us as a fallout, nor is there a lack of willingness shown by GoP to protect these Pakistani citizens (and I refuse to use minority here for they are your citizens first and foremost)

There is a deliberate ploy on behalf of TTP to drive a communal point so that the will of security forces can try to be changes on religious lines, something which is improbable to succeed.

In addition, any ways that they can force India to interfere in form of diplomatic pressure is a good route for them as this will cause GoP to resent any outside interference (rightfully) and then political will may be weakened by state of confusion as again the GoP ends up looking to be acting in Indian interests something which shall not be welcome to PA.

Nasty people we seem to have operating there ........ I maintain, its Pakistans job and they are doing it to the best of any states capability.

A job well done to both PA and GoP.

 

[Gabbar]

Like i said no one knew that sikhs resided in Pakistan specially in ORAKZAI or anywhere....however in 62 years a common enemy of PAKISTANIS(including pakistani sikhs) comes and hurts a common pakistani(sikh) and it is given a ethnic spin....great work....how much the indians try to make it a big issue these pakistanis are patriotic and don't look at their religion...as for sikh's gabaar you might know that alot of sikhs comes to pakistan for pilgrimage and none of them ever have anything to worry about....infact last time they met the Prime minster inorder to thank him and the PAKISTANI government....so my fellow indians cry as you may but this is a PAKISTANI issue all pakistanis have a common enemy regardless of their religious orientations...!!

You are missunderstanding this thread. It is not about bashing Pakistan and it never was but is it wrong to have thread about this issue? I dont think so.
Please check the thread below, I did thank Pakistan!!

http://www.defence.pk/forums/curren...amilitary-provide-security-sikh-pilgrims.html

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Stay off the issue of Kashmir on this thread please.

 

[Gabbar]

Pakistan Govt announces relief package for displaced Sikhs​

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti has reiterated that the government will ensure the safety of minorities in the country, APP reports.

‘The present government believes in the principles of tolerance, human equality and peaceful co-existence,’ the minister said.

He was addressing a press conference regarding non-Muslim displaced families in the wake of recent disturbances in Swat, Buner and Orakzai Agency.

Earlier, he visited Gurdwara Punja Sahab, Hassan Abdal, where 128 Sikh families have taken refuge after violence in the aforementioned areas.

He was of the view that nobody has right to alter the state system in contradiction to Quaid-e-Azam’s vision.

The minister emphasized on religion-social harmony in the country that was what the father of the nation mentioned in his very first speech in the First Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.

He condemned the demand of Jizia (tax) by local Taliban and said that the minorities in Pakistan are not conquered communities rather they are sons of the soil and the government will not allow any faction of society to trample the constitutional rights of the minorities.

‘The concept of Jizia is (in) blatant violation of the law of the land as Article 20 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan protect the right to profess and practice the religion for every citizen of the country without any discrimination,’ he added.

The minister also announced a relief package for non-Muslim families who have been dislocated due to recent disturbance in Swat, Buner and Orakzai Agency.

These families have been housed in Gurdwara Punja Sahib, Hassan Abdal and Gurdwara Bhai Joga Singh, Peshawar.

The package covers residence, provision of food items, medical and educational facilities and emergency financial assistance of Rs10,000 for each family.

The Federal Minister also declared that the government will ensure their rehabilitation in their respective areas as and when the situation improves.

He also constituted a committee of Ministry’s officers to look after the problems of these refugees.

The Minister informed that he has already written letter to Governor and Chief Minister of the concerned province for protection of minorities in the prevailing situation.

Ministry of Minorities is doing its best to help out the non-Muslim families who have become the victims of militancy in these areas, he said.

‘The Ministry has its special budget for upkeep and renovation of their religious places and to facilitate the Yatrees to the major Gurdwaras in Pakistan,’ he said.

A plan of establishing Baba Guru Nanak University at Nankana Sahib is also under consideration while religious festivals of the Sikh community are celebrated with great zeal, Bhatti said. Gurdwara Panja Sahib.

Pakistan Zindabad!! ​

 

[Gabbar]

 

[Gabbar]

8 lakh people homeless as Taliban-army fighting intensifies

Dodging army shells and the Taliban, Sikh families from Swat and other parts of war-ravaged northern Pakistan have landed in a gurdwara on the plains of Punjab.

Many arrived at Gurdwara Panja Sahib in the dusty town of Hasan Abdal, about 40 kilometres northwest of Islamabad, with only the clothes on their back.

“We headed for Hasan Abdal because this is the only place we knew of,” Dr. Ashok Kumar, a six-foot Pathan from Pir Baba village in Buner district, told Hindustan Times.

Displacement is haunting the country as the military takes on the Taliban. A total of 3.6 lakh have fled their homes in northwestern Pakistan in the last week, the United Nations estimated on Sunday. This is in addition to the five lakh displaced in previous bouts of fighting.

Suran Singh, affiliated to the Pakistani Gurdwara Parbhan-dak Committee, is a worried man. He is concerned about meeting the daily needs of about 340 families in Hasan Abdal.

Singh, a homeopathic doctor, left his clinic in Buner and fled with six family members packed in his Suzuki on April 28.

Since his arrival, he has taken charge as spokesman and chief organiser. At home, he was an elected member of the local council. “The only thing people want is to go home,” Singh said.

In many ways, the Sikhs were lucky— they had some place to go to. “Many of our Muslim neighbours and friends have ended up in tents,” he said, stressing that fear of shelling was paramount.

On the imposition of the jaziya tax – a levy by the Taliban on non-Muslims -- Singh said, “I was not approached. In fact, the Taliban came to my area on April 4 and for almost a month we lived under their control. We fled when the fighting intensified.”

Others, however, say they heard of the jaziya tax. “I know families in Tirah were told to pay,” said a young man, who preferred anonymity.

Others said the Taliban were holding some Sikhs against their will.

Manzoor Bhatti, the caretaker of the gurdwara, said the Sikh refugees, many of whom are professional doctors and engineers, are happy to run their affairs.

So far, both the government and the United Nations have helped with supplies. However, to sustain such a large number over a longer period would be difficult.

Sandeep Kumar, a student of Edwards College in Peshawar, said his family never migrated to India after partition “because the Muslims in our area begged us to stay on.” Now, however, “we have been forced out by extremists, not our neighbours.”

“We are Pathans first and Sikh later. These times are troubling for all Pathans not just the Sikhs,” said Suran Singh with a smile, when asked to comment on the offer to migrate to India. “We need to fight this challenge together.”
This is a sentiment shared by many in the Panja Sahib Gurdwara.

 

[Zob]

its not wrong to have a thread like this infact i encourage it because this thread shows how tolerant PAKISTAN & PAKISTANIS want to be and how the TALIBAN wants to destroy our ideology as pakistanis!!!

i suggest MOD's please murge this thread with another thread on our SIKH PAKISTANI BROTHERS!!