The Pakistani government has formed an inquiry committee to probe reports of Sikhs being forced to convert to Islam in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, the country's High Commissioner to India told a Shiromani Akali Dal delegation led by its chief Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief and former deputy chief minister of Punjab Badal today met Pakistani High Commissioner Sohail Mahmood here along with members of the Sikh Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC) over the issue of reports of forced conversions of Sikhs to Islam in the neighbouring country.
The delegation impressed upon the High Commissioner that instead of forcing the Sikhs to convert to Islam, Pakistan should give credit to these brave Sikh families who have preferred to stay in Pakistan and not migrate to India in 1947, the SAD said in a statement.
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Pakistan's High Commissioner to India informed the delegation that an inquiry committee has been formed to probe the issue which will submit its report at the earliest, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, an SAD spokesperson, said.
"He also told the delegation that it can assure Sikhs residing in different nations that Sikhs of Pakistan are very much part of the country and they will never face any problem in this regard," the party said quoting the Pakistani envoy.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had yesterday said that India will take up at the highest level in the Pakistan government reports of Sikhs being forced to convert to Islam by a government official in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).
Meanwhile, Badal also suggested that the Pakistan government should take on board SGPC to resolve issues related to Sikh affairs in that country.
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