TREATMENT OF SIKHS BECOMES A BILATERAL ISSUE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 000994 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PK SUBJECT: TREATMENT OF SIKHS BECOMES A BILATERAL ISSUE Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Gerald Feierstein for reasons 1.4 (b), (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Pakistan's religious minorities face discrimination even in the best of times; the spread of taliban influence and control in the Northwest Frontier Province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has made matters worse. Taliban forces have exploited and exacerbated Sunni-Shi'a tensions in FATA areas like Kurram Agency and recently have threatened the small Sikh community in Orakzai Agency. At the hands of the taliban, the Orakzai Sikhs have endured kidnapping, extortion, and arson; many are joining other internally displaced persons (IDPs) fleeing the conflict. On May 1, facing domestic political pressure from its own Sikh community, the Government of India weighed in, calling on the GOP to take note of anti-Sikh actions and neutralize the taliban for the peace of the region. While Pakistani editorials have sympathized with the Sikhs, they concurred with Pakistan's official reply -- this an internal matter, not of any Indian concern. As long as the taliban's control remains (or spreads),Pakistan's minorities will face increasing threats. End summary. Sikhs Fleeing FATA - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (SBU) Under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud and his deputy, Hakimullah Mehsud, Pakistan's taliban has been emboldened to engage in simple extortion of a tiny religious minority under the rubric of "jizya" in areas under its control in FATA. According to local media reports, the Sikh community in Orakzai Agency, was forced to pay a $250,000 ransom as a "non-Muslim tax" (jizya) after the taliban forcibly occupied their homes and kidnapped Sikh local leader Kalyan Singh. It appears militants still demolished 11 Sikh homes in Orakzai after they failed to pay the jizya by an April 29 deadline. The militants had originally demanded $625,000. Three markets belonging to Sikhs were also burned down. ¶3. (C) In response, some religious minorities joined other IDPs fleeing increased levels of combat in NWFP and FATA. The Minorities' Affairs Ministry reported to EmbOff that 153 IDP Sikh families (about 1,000 Sikhs) have fled from the region's recent violence. Some have gone to Peshawar, NWFP, but 128 of these families have moved on to Punjab. Pakistan's Property Trust Evacuee Board (PTEB) is making relief arrangements for the affected Sikhs outside FATA. PTEB Chairman Syed Asif Hashmi recently promised Pakistan's minorities "full protection" and relief services. India Wades In - - - - - - - - ¶4. (SBU) Shortly after this story broke in mid-April, Pakistan's Sikh community asked for help from both Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Gilani and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. According to Pakistani press, the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC),which is the Sikhs' highest religious body based in India, called on Singh and GOI External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to speak out on events in Orakzai. The SGPC has further sought permission from Gilani to visit FATA in order to assess the condition of Sikhs living in the area. ¶5. (U) On May 1, India officially took note of these reports of Sikh harassment and expressed concern about the security of Sikhs in FATA. India's External Affairs Ministry stated, "On seeing reports about Sikh families in Pakistan being driven out of their homes and being subjected to jizya and other such impositions, the Government of India has taken up the question of treatment of minorities in Pakistan with the Government of Pakistan." India further called on the GOP "to neutralize the taliban" to ensure peace in the region. A Pakistani diplomat to New Delhi, reportedly summoned earlier in the day, was given the same message. ¶6. (U) On May 2, Pakistan responded, rejecting as "gratuitous" India's concerns over Sikhs in the FATA. Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said, "Sikhs living in Orakzai Agency are Pakistani citizens and hence of no concern to India." He added, "The Government of Pakistan is fully cognizant of the situation," without specifying if the GOP was taking any action to investigate or, if reports of the "maltreatment" of Sikhs were true, provide a remedy. ISLAMABAD 00000994 002 OF 002 Minorities' Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, however, condemned April 16 the harassment of Sikh families by the taliban in Orakzai. Editorial Support - - - - - - - - ¶7. (SBU) Pakistan's editorial writers have been sympathetic to the Sikhs' plight. They noted that, historically, jizya was imposed on non-Muslim populations in return for local protection. Here, Sikhs have for centuries lived peacefully alongside the local Muslim Pashtuns. As one editorial in daily newspaper "The News" said, "After (foreign) taliban descended on Orakzai and established their own rule, they (Sikhs) have been held at gunpoint." Many articles also lamented the GOP's weakness to protect the general population, but especially the country's minorities. ¶8. (SBU) India's sympathies were much less appreciated. The "Daily Times" suggested the GOP response could have been less combative and noted that the GOP was providing the Sikh IDPs with shelter and basic services. But "The Frontier Post" took the bait: "It is ironical that India, which ruthlessly crushed the Sikhs' movement and attacked the Golden Temple, killing hundreds, has expressed concern over 'maltreatment' of Pakistan's minorities." The article then becomes a litany of how Pakistan has been less bad than India to and for their respective Sikh minorities. The Sikh Connection - - - - - - - - - - ¶9. (U) According to the Minorities' Affairs Ministry, Sikhs number only about 30,000 of Pakistan's 170 million people. The community in Pakistan's frontier region with Afghanistan is long established and relatively large, however. ¶10. (U) Thousands of Sikh pilgrims visit Pakistan every year, though the ministry reported this number down to mere hundreds so far this year because of the worsening security situation. Pakistan is home to many Sikh holy places. Most pilgrims visit Nankana Sahib, where Guru Nanak Dev, founder of the Sikh faith, was born in 1469, and the Shrine of Guru Arjan Dev, in Lahore. In 2008, over 4,000 Sikhs attended the Baisakhi festival at Panja Sahib in Hasanabdal; this year, numbers at the early April event were considerably less. There are reportedly around 150 holy or historical Sikh sites throughout Pakistan, including in Peshawar, D.I. Khan, and Quetta. ¶11. (C) Comment: Post has noted a marked increase in minorities' complaints about discriminatory practices and mistreatment over the past year as religious extremism has spread. One of the many negative consequences of talibanization is intolerance of religious minorities, not just of Sikhs and other non-Muslims but also of other Muslims, especially Shi'a. The pressure on Orakzai's historic Sikh community is just one more indicator of how this once relatively peaceful tribal agency has become a hub of taliban activity. End comment. FEIERSTEIN