WSO Condemns Attacks on Sikhs in Peshawar

Ottawa (June 25, 2023):  The World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) condemns the outrageous attacks on Sikhs in Peshawar Pakistan by Islamic State group’s Khorasan chapter (IS-K).  One Sikh shopkeeper, Manmohan Singh has lost his life, while in another separate incident a day before, Sikh shopkeeper, Tarlok Singh, was shot and injured.  IS-K has claimed responsibility for both attacks.  The WSO calls on the Government of Pakistan to ensure that the Sikh community is protected and ensure that those responsible for the attacks are brought to justice.

The attacks over the past 48 hours are only the latest in a series of targeted killings of members of the Sikh community in Peshawar.  On March 31, 2023, Dayal Singh was shot while sitting in his shop.  In May 2022, two other Sikhs were shot and killed.

WSO President Tejinder Singh Sidhu said today,

“The repeated targeted killing of Sikhs in Peshawar by IS-K terrorists is a crisis that the Government of Pakistan must immediately address.  There have been at least twelve such terrorist attacks on Sikhs over the past few years.  Sikhs have lived peacefully in Peshawar for centuries and this is clearly an attempt to drive them from their homes.

The IS-K repeatedly engaged in targeted killings and terrorist attacks on Sikhs in Afghanistan which resulted in the mass exodus of the community from that country.  Pakistan must do all that is necessary to avoid a similar outcome in Peshawar.”

The World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) is a non-profit organization with a mandate to promote and protect the interests of Canadian Sikhs, as well as to promote and advocate for the protection of human rights of all individuals.