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| Three Minority Community Killed in Three Days: 'It Was Not a Clumsy, Highly Trained Sharpshooter' |
Sardar Dayal Singh was a very harmless person. He had no enmity with anyone. They were overwhelmed by grief and work, why would they be enmity with anyone?'
This is said by Sardar Gopal Singh Chawla who is a close relative of Sardar Dayal Singh who died in Peshawar.
In the last three days, three people belonging to the minority community were killed in Karachi and Peshawar, including Dr. Birbal Giani of Karachi, Sardar Dayal Singh of Peshawar, and Kashif Masih of Peshawar.
Apparently, these three people are not related to each other, but all three belong to different minority communities, due to which the fear is being expressed that a new wave of target killing has started in Pakistan.
However, no one has claimed responsibility so far while the police are probing terrorism as well as other motives.
Asif Masih, the brother of Kashif Masih, who died in Peshawar on Saturday, told the BBC, 'We are hardworking people, we have no enmity with anyone, so our fights do not go beyond words. '
Haroon Gill, a close friend of Dr. Birbal Giani, who was killed in Karachi, said that "Dr. Sahib used to share lights among people.
How did these murders happen?
In the Sardar Dayal Singh murder case in Peshawar, it is said that he was killed in his shop. The plaintiff in the case is the brother of Sardar Dayal Singh.
It has been said in the registered case that 'Sardar Dayal Singh and we have no enmity with anyone. Unknown terrorists are responsible for the incident.
Sardar Dayal Singh is survived by three children and a widow.
According to the Peshawar Police, Kashif Masih, who was performing dust removal duties in Peshawar Municipal, was returning home after performing his duties on Saturday when an unknown motorcycle rider shot and killed him near the house.
According to the police, the investigation team has collected various pieces of evidence from the crime scene.
According to Asif Masih, brother of Kashif Masih, "We have requested the police to register a case against the unknown terrorists."
Kashif Masih is survived by three children and a widow.
SSP Operational Peshawar Haroon Rasheed informed the details of his death and said that Sardar Dayal Singh was targeted. Due to this, the police have added provisions of terrorism in this case while we are now looking at the murder of Kashif Masih so that there is no other motive for the murder. After that, it will be decided whether terrorism provisions should be imposed in his murder case or not.
Haroon Rasheed said that in both the Sardar Dayal Singh and Kashif Masih murder cases, a motorcycle and according to the investigation so far, a 30-bore pistol were used. Police are currently investigating both incidents and evidence is being collected.
Meanwhile, according to Karachi Police, Dr. Birbal Giani has been targeted at New Garden Interchange on Lyari Expressway in Karachi.
SSP City Dr. Arif Aziz while talking to the media said that this murder appears to be a targeted killing. There is no clear information about the motive behind the murder. The police are investigating the incident.
According to Dr. Arif Aziz, it seems that the assailant had complete information regarding the movements of the deceased doctor.
Former Interior Secretary and Inspector General of Police Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Dr. Syed Akhtar Shah said that it seems that the incidents of terrorism have increased again.
However, no group has yet accepted responsibility for these incidents.
'Minorities are targeted'
Dr. Saroop Singh, a member of the Minority Commission of Pakistan from Peshawar, says that such incidents happen every year to the Sikhs in Peshawar. "Not a year goes by without these events."
He said that there was a targeted killing of Sikhs in Peshawar last year as well. It has happened this year too. I claim that no one has been held guilty of any of the Sikhs killed in the Target Killing. Another similarity in these incidents is that most of these incidents took place in the month of Ramadan.
Dr. Saroop Singh said that Sikhs were targeted in Peshawar during Ramadan last year as well.
"Four years ago, my nephew Charanjit Singh was killed in the same way that Sardar Dayal Singh was targeted." He was also targeted at his shop. So far, the criminals have not been able to find anything.
"Similarly, Ranjit Singh and Guljit Singh were targeted a few months ago and there are many names that have been targeted at different times."
He said that in the month of Ramadan, young Sikhs make Muslims break their fasts. Provide cheap goods. Maybe someone has doubts about why they are doing this good work.
Dr. Syed Akhtar Shah said that the specific extremist mentality in these incidents cannot be ignored.
Some elements have been brainwashed and are waiting for an opportunity. For which they are ready to take extreme steps. Behind this, there may be many motivations.
"The manner of the killing suggests that he was not a clumsy but a trained sharpshooter."
Dr. Syed Akhtar Shah says that the two murders in Peshawar are very similar and seem to have been carried out in the same way. Sardar Dayal Singh was killed by a motorcyclist and Kashif Masih was also a victim of the motorcyclist.
Dr. SYad Akhtar Shah said that the unknown motorcyclist who killed both of them was wearing a helmet. Police recovered 30-bore pistol shells from both crime scenes. However, it is not yet clear whether the pistol used in the shooting was the same or not, information will be available only from the forensic report. '
Dr. Syed Akhtar Shah further said that the manner of killing shows that he was not clumsy but a highly trained sharpshooter. Who wasted no time in killing both of them.
Dr. Syed Akhtar Shah says that till now no other motive behind the murder has been revealed. If no other motive emerges, then how these murders were committed and the incidents occurred. It seems that these are systematic acts of terrorism. Behind this, there is long and long planning.
He said that it is likely to be an old network. Nothing can be said about any new network. However, there has been an increase in incidents of terrorism at this time. This seems to be a link in the same chain.
Dr. Syed Akhtar Shah said that terrorists usually choose such targets. Apart from getting headlines in the media, he got attention at the national and international levels. If there is fear and panic after the incident, then it should be considered that the problem of law and order has been solved.
In Pakistan, however, questions regarding minorities keep arising. Whenever minorities are targeted, it makes headlines in the national and international media. By which the objectives of the terrorists are fulfilled.
'Minority communities are easy targets
Dr. Saroop Singh says that unfortunately, looking at all the incidents of attacks on minorities, it is understandable that the victims of terrorism are the poor.
The murdered Sikh was a poor shopkeeper. Christian was a poor working man. If someone decides to harm them, these people are not capable of defending themselves unless they have the full support of the government and the state. '
He said that Sikhs continue to be targeted in Peshawar. But now that even a harmless Christian has been targeted, it seems that this is a new wave of terrorism in which minorities are being specifically targeted. The purpose of which is nothing but to create fear and panic. Minorities have become victims of insecurity at this time.
According to Dr. Saroop Singh, Sardar Dayal Singh belongs to Bara, a famous area of the Khyber district.
These people left Bara during the last wave of terrorism and settled in the corners of Peshawar.
They were not very public. Even before this, there was a lot of target killing of Sikhs from Bara and tribal areas.
He said that we have seen in the past that Sikhs and other minorities were targeted before the wave of terrorist attacks.
"It still seems that attacks on minorities are not the starting point of a major wave of terrorism and incidents."
Dr. Syed Akhtar Shah says that before killing Kashif Masih, the motorcyclist asked where the Madrasa was. He was also called to him. He was returning home from his work. From this, it is felt that the killer had identified his target.
He said that religious extremism has been the main cause of terrorism in our region. Now nothing can be definitively said about which group is involved in this.
He said that we are seeing that the incidents of terrorism are increasing since 2022. We are going to see the same in 2023.
Asif Masih says that the night before the incident, both of us brothers were with our paralyzed father. They were pressing their legs and gossiping.
On this occasion, Kashif Masih was very worried about his children's education. He was saying that he did not have enough income to enroll the children in a good educational institution.
Asif Masih said that 'Kashif Masih was saying that he is planning to get another part-time job so that he can make ends meet.'