ISLAMABAD: Frustrated at not having their complaints heeded, a large contingent of Sikhs descended upon Parliament House on Friday to protest the desecration of their holy book in Sindh.

Brandishing traditional daggers and shouting slogans, the protesters managed to evade police deployed around the high-security zone and stormed the parliament building in the early afternoon. They occupied the lawns outside the building for around three hours before a settlement to the standoff was negotiated.

The protesters were originally scheduled to demonstrate outside the Islamabad Press Club. However, they managed to enter Constitution Avenue around noon. Even police baton-charges and tear gas canisters were unable to deter them as they breached the front gate of Parliament House, taking reporters and parliamentarians by surprise. The capital’s law-enforcers also seemed to go easy on the demonstrators.

Though police resorted to baton charges and fired tear gas shells, which injured some of the protesters, the overall attitude of law-enforcement was soft and no serious action was taken against them.

“We are not law-breakers or anti-state elements — this is our country, the land of our forefathers, but nobody is listening to our problems,” said Sardar Gopal Singh Chawla of the Pakistan Sikh Sangat. “Our holy book has been desecrated seven times in eighteen months, but no action has been taken — this is really sad,” he said.

He demanded that those violating the sanctity of minorities’ sacred texts and holy sites should be tried under the blasphemy law. “The most recent incident of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib occurred in the Mirpur Mathelo area of Ghotki,” he said.

“Apart from this desecration, our community is being targeted regularly and nothing is being done to protect us,” said Kohat-resident Sardar Joginder Singh. Sikh leaders have been targeted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in recent months, while two hakims were recently abducted from D.I. Khan.

The dust began to settle when a group of parliamentarians, which included PML-N Senator Zafar Ali Shah and Dr Rajesh Kumar as well as ANP Senator Amarjeet, came out to negotiate with the protesters.

Senator Zafar Ali Shah said that the desecration of holy texts was “an intolerable act” and assured the demonstrators that he would take up the issue with the prime minister.

The protesters who had visibly calmed down by then apologised to the parliamentarians for forcing their way into parliament. They were admonished by the parliamentarians who warned that such actions could be counter-productive.

“This is not the right way, even if you want to press for a justified cause,” said Dr Ramesh Kumar, who belongs to Sindh. “There is no doubt about the pain and sorrow you have — but how can respectable citizens behave just like those who disrespect places of worships and the sanctity of institutions,” he told the protesters.

He said the Sindh inspector general had been informed about the concerns of the Sikh community. The government also decided that a 13-member committee of Sikh representatives would present their community’s demands and assured the demonstrators of complete cooperation.

After the incident, police arrested 12 protesters and impounded their vehicles, but freed them when certain legislators became enraged at the move.

“We were told that these arrests could become an issue at a time when the prime minister is expected to visit India,” police sources said.

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2014