PESHAWAR: The Sikh community members held a demonstration here on Saturday against the alleged kidnapping of a Sikh youth from Peshawar, and demanded of the provincial government to ensure his safe and early recovery.

The protesters, including women and children, had gathered outside the Peshawar Press Club, holding banners and placards inscribed with demands for a fair investigation into the case.

They said Awinash Singh had disappeared a month ago from Gulberg area in mysterious conditions.

Speaking to the protesters, Sikh Saba Youth Affairs representative Sardar Parwinder Singh said that the missing youth was well-educated and his family had no enmity with anyone.

“We made strenuous efforts to get any clue about the whereabouts of Awinash Singh, but to no avail,” he said and demanded of the provincial police chief to take personal interest in safe recovery of the youth.

He recalled that a number of Sikh community members had been killed in the past in different parts of the country, but the killers were yet to be arrested.

“Our people are mostly dealing in different businesses and have no enmities but even then they are targeted by unknown persons,” he lamented and demanded of the government to ensure protection to the people and order probe into the alleged kidnapping of Awanish Singh.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2021