By IANS,
Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Monday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take up with Islamabad the issue of a Pakistan-based Sikh lawyer’s hair being forcibly cut by a group of Muslims.
“In a letter written to the prime minister, Badal has highlighted the plight of a tormented Sikh family in Pakistan. It was reported in press on Dec 15 that a Sikh lawyer Anup Singh was thrashed and his hair was cut forcefully by a group of Muslims as he reportedly refused to embrace Islam,” the state government spokesperson said Monday.
“The lawyer was later booked by police under section 452 (house trespass, restraining or putting any person in fear of hurt) of the Pakistan Penal Xode. His brother Ravinder Singh is also facing the threat of being arrested by the police. The beleaguered family has fled from their native village and has taken shelter at gurudwara Panja Sahib in Hassnabdal,” the spokesman added.
Badal has sought the personal intervention of Manmohan Singh and urged him to take up the matter with the Pakistan government for providing relief to the distressed family and ensuring their safety and security.
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Avtar Singh Makkar, accompanied by a delegation, met Pakistan high commission officials in New Delhi Monday and submitted a memorandum apprising them about Anup Singh’s case and other cases of atrocities against Sikhs and religious institutions in Pakistan.
SGPC, the mini-parliament of the Sikh religion, manages gurdwaras in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and is the most powerful body in the Sikh politico-religious set up.
The holiest of Sikh shrines, Harmandar Sahib (popularly called Golden Temple), located in Punjab’s holy city Amritsar, is also managed by the SGPC.