The Islamic State – Khorasan (IS-K) has claimed responsibility for the killing of two men belonging to the minority Sikh and Christian communities in Peshawar last week.
Dyal Singh was gunned down in the Garhi Ata Mohammad area on the outskirts of Peshawar. The 35-year-old Sikh shopkeeper was killed when an unidentified motorcyclist opened indiscriminate fire on him.
The assailant parked his motorcycle outside Singh’s shop and fired two shots from a pistol, killing Dyal on the spot.
A day later, a member of the Christian community, Kashif Masih, was shot dead in Banaras Abad Academy Town. Armed men opened fire on him while he was on his way home.
According to Voicepk.net, IS-K claimed responsibility for both attacks.
Earlier, a Hindu doctor was shot dead in Karachi’s Garden area after his vehicle was attacked by unknown assailants, in what has been described by the police as a case of targeted killing.
Dr Beerbal Ginani recently retired as Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s (KMC) medical and health services director.
Earlier, the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) issued the Human Rights Observer 2023, an annual fact sheet, detailing abuses against religious minorities in Pakistan. The reported covered five key issues impacting religious minorities, including discrimination in the education system, the prevalence of forced faith conversions, abuse of blasphemy laws, the establishment of the National Commission for Minorities, and jail remissions for minority prisoners.
The report noted an increase in the content against minorities in textbooks and curricula.