Shock, outrage in Punjab over killing of Sikhs in Pakistan

The decapitation of two Sikhs by Taliban in Pakistan today evoked sharp condemnation in Punjab with political parties, top sikh religious bodies and the Akal Takht terming the incident as barbaric and an outrage against humanity.

The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) demanded immediate intervention of the Prime Minister in ensuring the safety and security of the Sikhs in Pakistan as its ally BJP staged a vociferous protest at the Attari border.

Terming the killings as an outrage against humanity, SAD supremo and chief minister Parkash Singh Badal asked the Union government to put the issue on the agenda of upcoming foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan.

"Prime minister Manmohan Singh should intervene to secure the release of remaining members of the Sikh community held hostage by the Taliban," he said in a statement here. Badal urged Singh to use all diplomatic channels in ensuring the safety and security of the Sikhs abroad.

Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal asked the prime minister to take up the issue of beheading of the two Sikhs with his Pakistani counterpart. The Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs, and the SGPC, the apex religious body of the community, termed the killings as barbaric.

Chanting anti-Taliban slogans, the BJP held a protest demonstration at the Attari border in Amritsar district. The BJP activists also burnt an effigy of the Taliban and sought Centre's intervention in the matter.