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India slams TTP actions against Sikhs?
NEW
DELHI: India on Friday protested against the Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan’s (TTP) attempt to impose Jizya (protection tax imposed on
non-Muslims under sharia law) and other restrictions on Sikhs living
in Orakzai Agency.
An Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman said New Delhi had
conveyed its concerns to Islamabad.
Earlier, the External Affairs Ministry summoned an official of the
Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi to register a formal
complaint over the development.
Sources said the Indian High Commission in Islamabad had also
conveyed similar objections to the Foreign Office.
“On seeing reports about Sikh families in Pakistan being driven out
of their homes and being subjected to Jizya and other such
impositions, the Indian government has taken up the treatment of
minorities with Pakistan,” spokesman Vishnu Prakash said. India’s
main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also took note of the
TTP’s actions, with party spokesman Prakash Javedkar saying reports
from Orakzai were deplorable.
He urged the Indian government to launch an international diplomatic
offensive to force Islamabad to act against the offenders.
Meanwhile, Shrimani Gurdawara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), the
highest religious body of Sikhs, has written a letter to Indian
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab
Mukherjee regarding the development.
SGPC has sought permission from the prime minister to visit the
Federally Administered Tribal Areas in Pakistan to assess the
condition of Sikhs living in the area.
Source:The News
International
: By Iftikhar Gilani :Saturday, May 02, 2009
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