A prominent Pakistani Sikh politician was shot dead on Friday by unidentified motorcycle-borne gunmen near his home in the country’s restive north-west.
Sardar Sooran Singh, the Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Minority Affairs, was assassinated in Pir Baba area of Buner district in the province when he was going back to his home after a routine walk, police said.
He was immediately taken to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead. Police said Mr. Singh had no guard at the time of attack. Initial post-mortem report stated that he received only one bullet in his head. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the killing.
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Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Special Assistant to KP Mushtaq Ghani and Provincial Ministers Shahram Tarakai have condemned the killing of Singh. They vowed to bring to justice all those responsible for the killing.
Mr. Singh was a doctor, TV anchor and politician. Before joining Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in 2011, Mr. Singh was a member of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan for nine years.
He was also member of the Tehsil council, the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and the Evacuee Trust Property Board.
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Mr. Singh also hosted programme Za Hum Pakistani Yam for three and a half years with Khyber News.
Sikhs make up less than 1 percent of Pakistan's 190 million people but many of them see Pakistan as the place where their religion began.
According to the police, at least eight members of the Sikh community have been killed in the northwest in 2013 and 2014 — the first recorded sectarian killings of Sikhs in Pakistani history.