MARDAN: Provincial minister for religious and minority affairs Sahibzada Adnan Qadri on Monday visited a Gurdwara here to express his condolences and sympathies with the families of the slain Sikh couple.

The minister said that he visited the minority worship place on the instructions of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.

Mr Qadri condemned the tragic incident that occurred at the Gurdwara the other day, and announced Rs4 million for the worship place and Rs1 million each for the families of the deceased.

On the occasion, MPA Suresh Kumar demanded that the compensation for the heirs of the deceased (Jagannath) be increased from Rs1 million to Rs2 million per person.

“The provincial government is deeply saddened by the brutal murder of the Sikh couple at the Gurdwara,” said Qadri. “In this time of grief, the government stands with the bereaved families,” he added.

“Islam is a religion of peace and instructs its followers to provide complete protection to non-Muslims. Islam teaches interfaith harmony and tolerance. In Islam, the killing of one person is considered the killing of the whole of humanity,” he said.

The Sikh community has lived on this land for centuries and is an important part of our society, he said.

The minister said the police acted promptly and arrested the suspect within 24 hours.

“It is regrettable that the Punjab government has attempted to politicise this incident,” he said.

“The Pakistan Muslim League-N government does not refrain from politicising every issue. Doing politics on such a sensitive matter is equivalent to rubbing salt into the wounds of the bereaved families,” said Mr Qadri.

“Instead of criticism, the Punjab minister for minority affairs should have appreciated the performance of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police,” he said

“An entire Christian community settlement was set on fire in Punjab, yet we did not politicise that incident,” said Mr Qadri, adding that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf believes in religious tolerance and interfaith harmony.

He said the establishment of the Kartarpur Corridor for the Sikh community was a historic achievement of the Imran Khan government.

Published in Dawn, June 23rd, 2026