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
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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
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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.

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Minorities' Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, however,
condemned April 16 the harassment of Sikh families by the
taliban in Orakzai.

Editorial Support
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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
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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