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               1,200 Sikhs take refuge in Punja Sahib

Pakistani people from Sikh community who fled Mingora and Buner in the troubled valley of Swat, take refuge in their temple in Hasanabdal, 45 kilometers from Islamabad, Pakistan, on Friday, May 8, 2009. – AP

TAXILA: The number of Sikhs taking shelter in Gurdwara Punja Sahib, Hassanabdal, has swollen to nearly 1,200 as more and more people flee the armed conflict in the north-western district of Buner, officials said on Friday.

Hundreds of Sikhs have been displaced by the fighting between the Taliban militants and the security forces in Buner and Dir districts, while hundreds more have fled their homes in the semi-autonomous Aurakzai tribal region due to threats from the Taliban after demands for Jizya, a tax imposed on non-Muslims. The displaced Sikhs have preferred to stay in the temple instead of going to makeshift camps established by the government authorities with the help of international relief agencies.

Scores of Sikh families have moved from the militancy-hit areas of Pir Baba, Buner, Maidan, Lal Qila and Islam Dara of Lower Dir to safer places in the wake of the ongoing military operation. These Sikhs had been living in the area since long and even after the partition of the sub-continent, they did not move and preferred to stay in the area.

Meanwhile, NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain and Minorities Affairs Minister Nauroz Khan also visited Gurdwara Punja Sahib on Friday and expressed solidarity with the Sikh IDPs. They also distributed aid among the more than 300 Sikh families in the temple.

Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has made elaborate arrangements for the boarding and lodging of these Sikh IDPs. Sardar Soran Singh, who is overseeing the affairs, told Dawn that all facilities were being provided to the Sikh families free of cost, saying 'We will allow them to stay here for as long as they want.'

Officials of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) told this reporter that influx of Sikh families was expected in the next few days as authorities again relaxed curfew in Swat, Buner and other troubled areas of the NWFP

Dawn.Saturday, 09 May, 2009