A SIKH ‘hakeem' (Unani medicine practitioner) was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Thursday (30) in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar, police said.
'Hakeem' Sardar Satnam Singh (Khalsa) was at his clinic when the attackers barged into his cabin and opened fire at him.
Singh, who received four bullets, died instantly, police said, adding that the killers managed to escape from the crime scene.
A police team rushed to the site and encircled the area. The reason behind the murder was not ascertained yet.
Singh, a well-known figure in the Sikh community of Peshawar, was running his clinic ‘Dharmandar Pharmacy' on Charsadda Road.
About 15,000 Sikhs live in Peshawar, mostly in the Jogan Shah neighbourhood of the provincial capital. Most of the Sikh community members in Peshawar are involved in business, while some also run pharmacies.
The police are investigating the matter from different angles and the possibility of terrorism is also being probed.
In 2018, Charanjit Singh, a prominent Sikh community member, was killed by unknown men in Peshawar. News channel anchor Ravinder Singh was killed in 2020 in the city. In 2016, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf National Assembly member Soren Singh was killed in Peshawar.
According to the 2017 census, Hindus constitute the largest religious minority in Pakistan, followed by Christians. The Ahmadis, Sikhs and Parsis are also among the notable religious minorities in the country.
Viram Jasani 
