Pakistan | Elderly Sikh couple brutally murdered inside Gurdwara, main suspect arrested after 3 days, huge outrage in India

A very shocking and painful news has come out from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. An elderly Sikh couple serving inside a historic Gurudwara were shot dead in Mardan district here. Three days after the double murder, the local police claimed to have arrested the main suspect. After this incident, there is an atmosphere of panic among the minority Sikh community living in Pakistan, while in India, the highest organization of Sikhs, Akal Takht and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have taken strong objection to this and took the Pakistan government to task.

  The deceased have been identified as 70-year-old Jagannath and his wife Asma Wanti. He was looking after the gurudwara located at Babu Mohalla in Mardan district, about 60 km north-west of Peshawar. On Wednesday, he was shot dead inside the Gurudwara. The provincial police identified the arrested suspect as Sher Shah, a resident of Amazugari. Mardan District Police Officer (DPO) Masood Ahmed Bangash said that the investigation conducted by a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) comprising police officers, Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel and other senior officials has so far found no evidence of the suspect's connection with any banned group, terrorist organization or organized network.

Police said the motive behind the killings is still unclear and officials are investigating all possible angles based on the suspect's statements and other evidence collected so far. According to reports, "the attackers entered the Gurudwara" and fled from the spot after opening fire.

  According to media reports from Pakistan, a police team has been deployed to protect the Gurudwara. A guard was deployed, but he was not present at the time of the attack. CCTV cameras were installed in the premises, but investigators found that the digital video recorder was not working. Akal Takht and BJP in India reacted strongly to this murder. Akal Takht's Jathedar (head priest) Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj condemned the murder and urged Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Khan Afridi to take strict cognizance of the matter, immediately arrest those responsible and ensure strict punishment to the culprits.

BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh condemned the killings and said Pakistan has consistently failed to fulfill the promises made under the Nehru-Liaquat Pact of 1950, which guaranteed the safety of minorities in both India and Pakistan.