Pakistan's Minority Communities Under Threat: Five Sikh families leave for India

The Express Tribune

Against the backdrop of escalating violence against religious minority communities, at least five Sikh families have left Pakistan for India, citing financial woes, a family elder revealed on Thursday.

Baba Amarjit Singh, a community senior in Peshawar, said that migrating families traded in commodities including textiles with India and had moved to seek better business opportunities.

“I don’t like going to India as our Guru was born and buried in Pakistan. The Indian government is always suspicious of our presence,” he said, expressing displeasure over their decision.

Members of the community have to meet stringent visa requirements for a pilgrimage to the Golden Temple, the holiest of Sikh shrines, in Amritsar, India.

Most pilgrims are allowed to visit India after they submit a written undertaking that they would not seek asylum and would return to Pakistan within 30 days.

“We have to make a group of at least 200 people to visit the Golden Temple and our visas are limited to just one week,” Amarjit said. Narrating the ordeal, he said, there is no respect for Sikhs travelling from Pakistan and it’s not easy for us to visit Amritsar, he added. Sikhs form a tiny community in the country, with a sizeable number of them concentrated in Punjab and Peshawar. Despite efforts by Islamabad, the current wave of migration seems to be continuing as most minority communities leave the country bearing tales of discrimination, mistreatment and widespread uncertainty.

Citing financial difficulties, Baba Gurpal Singh, another elder in the area, said that several Sikh families have migrated to Hassanabdal and Nankana Sahib.

“There are a variety of reasons for leaving Pakistan but the main problem is financial uncertainty and the deteriorating law and order situation,” he said.

Despite Lahore being a larger city, he said that lack of security and the atmosphere of fear stalks minority communities, even in urban areas.

“Some people have gone back to Tirah in search of better business prospects and the number of Sikh families which was 700 has fallen to 450,” he explained.

“We are a peaceful community but the unrest in Peshawar is forcing us to leave, despite the attitude of general public towards Sikhs in the area being very supportive,” he added.