Washington, Jan 10: Strongly condemning the murder of Sikh-Canadian woman Rajvinder Kaur Gill and the beheading of Mohinder Singh in Pakistan, the Sikh community in the US today demanded protection of minorities in that country.
In a statement, United Sikhs - a Sikh advocacy group - demanded that the government protect minorities in Pakistan and pay compensation to the families of the victims.
It also called on the government in Pakistan to secure the safety of all minorities.
"United Sikhs appeals for donations for Mohinder Singh's family," the statement said.
Tawheedul Islam, a pro-government militia of Zakhakhel tribesmen in Pakistan's lawless tribal belt, claimed responsibility for the beheading of 40-year-old Singh, whom it accused of acting as a "spy" for a rival outfit.
Singh was kidnapped from his shop in Tabbai village of Khyber Agency by unidentified armed men on November 20, 2012.
Singh was beheaded and his body was mutilated before it was packed in a sack and dumped at Zakhakhel Bazaar in Khyber Agency on January 7, 2013.
A note left with the body said Singh had been killed for spying for a rival militant group, the Lashkar-e-Islam.
The body was identified by this brother Daswant Singh and was cremated in Peshawar yesterday. Singh is survived by his wife and nine children, including a polio-affected son.
40-year-old Kaur, a Canadian Sikh businesswoman, went missing on August 25, the day she arrived in Pakistan, and was later found murdered by Shahid, a German national of Pakistani origin who owed her money and his accomplice Hafiz.
She was invited into entering Pakistan for a diamond auction in Lahore. Hafiz told police that his cousin, Shahid and he plotted to kill her.
