Beijing: Condemning the beheading of two
Sikhs by Taliban militants in Pakistan, Foreign Minister Shah
Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday said his government would do whatever it can for safety and security of the minority community.
"We are equally concerned. We condemn that strongly.
They (militants) are inhuman. They have (make) no distraction
between individuals, ethnicities or religions regardless,"
Qureshi, who is on a visit here, told reporters.
Asked whether Pakistan would step up security for
Sikhs and other minorities in view of the incident, Qureshi
said Pakistan has always gone out of its way to welcome Sikhs.
"We will do whatever we can for their security and
want them to visit Pakistan," he said.
"We understand that they have some interests in
Pakistan because the religious holy sites we have. Because of
that they love to come to Pakistan love to visit Lahore and
Punjab.
"They speak the same language and are good friends. We
have lot of commonality. We try to improve facilities to
facilitate them and improve the conditions of the sites," the
Foreign Minister said.
Two Sikhs who were kidnapped for ransom were found
beheaded by the Pakistani Taliban in the country`s restive
tribal belt on Sunday. Some more members of the minority
community are still in the custody of the rebels.
Qureshi said people in India should wake up and
realise the situation in Pakistan.
"We have seen the way they butchered the women and
children and they way they beheaded their fellow Muslims. What
do you expect from them. All I can say is to condemn it.
We are fighting against that. We are getting the upper hand,"
he said.
"My message is to friends in India to wake up and
realise what Pakistan is doing. What Pakistan is doing on Tuesday
is in India’s long term interests. If we can successfully
defeat the extremists and terrorists in this part it will have
a salutary effect in the entire region.
"So this is the time to give Pakistan the ease and the
support that is required so that we collectively sit and
defeat such inhuman elements," he said.
PTI
