PESHAWAR: A trader belonging to the Sikh community was killed and two others were injured in an attack on three shops in a market in Hashnagri in Peshawar on Wednesday.

DSP Ashfaq Ahmed said that Jagmohan Singh, who dealt in cosmetics, mobile phones and accessories, died while he was being taken to the Lady Reading Hospital.

The injured traders, Pram Singh and Manmit Singh of Mohallah Jogan Shah Dabgari, were under treatment at the Lady Reading Hospital and their condition was said to be stable.

Witness Diva Singh told Dawn that the three were in their shops at Khush Hal Bazaar in Hashtnagri when a man entered the premises and opened fire on them in their shops.

Other shopkeepers in the market were alarmed by the firing and shut their shops.

He said the attacker, who had come on a motorbike, did not face any resistance and escaped. Police arrived there after the gunman had escaped.

Mr Singh said that this was not the first attack on the community.

He urged the government to tell them how they should protect themselves if it could not provide them security. After incidents of kidnapping of a number of Sikhs in the KP and other tribal areas, some members of the community have decided to wind up their shops and shift to other places in the country.

“The incident took place in the Khush Hal Bazaar in Hashtnagri area,” SP City Mustafa Tanvir told journalists.

Immediately after the attack, a large number of Sikhs took to the streets, placed the body of Jagmohan Singh on the road, burnt tyres and blocked the GT Road and Hospital Road. They shouted slogans against the government.

The protesters blocked the main thoroughfares for several hours.

They demanded immediate arrest of the killer and all those men who were involved in the murder of other members of the community in Bara and Shabqadar (Charsadda) area, some months ago.

The demonstrators later marched on the Khyber Road and reached the Chief Minister’s House where a delegation led by Sardar Suran Singh, Special Assistant to Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, met Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and apprised him of the grievances and demands of the community.

The protesters later took the body of the deceased to the Gurdwara in the Jugan Shah Street for last rites.

PTI CONDEMNATION: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s provincial president Azam Khan Swati, secretary general Khalid Masood and information secretary Ayesha Gulalai condemned the killing.

They accused enemies of the country for the heinous crimes carried out to destabilise the country.

They said the chief minister had issued orders for investigation and strict measures against elements involved in the crime.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2014