India should talk to Pakistan over Sikh beheading: Congress
By IANSMonday, February 22, 2010
NEW DELHI - India needs to talk to Pakistan over the beheading of a Sikh near Pakistan’s Peshawar city, the ruling Congress said Monday.
“It is a serious issue and there is a need to talk to Pakistan. It also sends a message to world powers who are trying to differentiate between good and bad Taliban,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari told reporters here.
Reacting to reports of the beheading of a Sikh, Jaspal Singh, by Taliban elements after his recent abduction from Tirah Valley in Khyber agency near Peshawar, Tewari said the government had been regularly taking up the issue of providing security to minorities, especially Sikhs, in Pakistan.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has also asked the government to mount “diplomatic pressure” on Pakistan to ensure release of the abducted Sikh residents in the country.
Besides, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and the Punjab government have also said that New Delhi must take up the issue with Pakistan to ensure the safety of Sikhs in the restive tribal area.
Jaspal Singh was kidnapped along with two other Sikh residents by Taliban militants from Tirah valley in Khyber Agency near the provincial capital Peshawar, DawnNews reported.
His two other companions, Gorwandar Singh and Srujeet Singh, are still being held captive by the militants, the report said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction and murder.
