The cutting of hair was a popular tactic used by Islamic invaders to destroy Sikh men’s morale
- The cutting of hair was a popular tactic used by Islamic invaders to destroy Sikh men’s morale
Chandighar, Punjab (CHAKRA) – Two Sikhs kidnapped in Pakistan revealed that within their 42-day captivity they were forced to convert to Islam. Immediately after being kidnapped, Gurbinder Singh and Sarjeet Singh were forced to drop their non-islamic religious values by cutting off their hair and shaving their beards.
The two men were reportedly kidnapped by the Islamic terrorist group Tehrik-e-Taliban, the same group who was responsible for the beheading of Jaspal Singh on February 20th after his family failed to pay a ransom of Rs. 30 million in exchange for his return. This ransom was also demanded for the Gurbinder and Sarjeet’s return.
During their rescue, Sarjeet suffered three bullet wounds in gun fire exchanges. Sources say that Sarjeet suffered bullet wounds because he had no beard or turban so the Pakistani military was not able to distinguish him apart from the Taliban militants.
Another Sikh man, Robin Singh has been recently kidnapped from the Peshawar area and a ransom of 140 000 pounds is being demanded. Sikhs are a minority in Pakistan and have lived in fear since the formation of Pakistan but still call Khyber home since their ancestors had lived there 200 years ago.
India’s foreign minister, S. M. Krishna has publicly condemned the barbaric attacks by the Taliban. He said, “I rise to strongly condemn the beheading of Sardar Jaspal Singh in the tribal areas of Pakistan. This barbaric and heinous crime is deplorable in the strongest possible terms. His abductors, reportedly the Taliban, committed the grave crime when his family was not able to pay ransom money to the abductors. We express our sincere condolences to the family of the victim.” He is scheduled to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Friday and has stated that India will be taking up the issue with Pakistan regarding this matter.