Peshawar: Sikhs in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have welcomed a recent court ruling allowing the carrying of a ceremonial dagger, known as a kirpan, in pursuance of a mandatory religious practice, but say that the court should not classify the object as a weapon that requires a licence.
Carrying a kirpan is one of the five articles of faith in Sikhism, and the Sikh community has fought legal battles around the world – both victory and defeat – to allow the object to be tolerated in public.
Last year, Sikh social activist Gurpal Singh filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court requesting that local Sikhs be allowed to carry the sacred object in public, including in government offices and on public transport. The court this week granted authority, but ordered Sikhs to take a renewable license for kirpan and pay a fee.
“The reason I went to court was the deteriorating law and order situation in the province and the ban on carrying kirpans in government offices and the city’s public transport system,” Singh told Arab News on Friday. Now there will be no problem in entering public places with a kirpan.
Pakistan is considered the birthplace of Sikhism. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, was born in the small village of Nankana Sahib near the eastern city of Lahore in 1469. Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the leader of the Sikh Empire, defeated the majority ethnic Pashtun tribesmen of the region in battle. Nowshera in 1823.
Its Commander-in-Chief, Hari Singh Nalwa, relocated thousands of Sikhs from Punjab to Peshawar and its surrounding areas, present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Phata.
According to community estimates, there have been at least 500 Sikh families living in Peshawar and its surrounding north-western areas since then. In recent years, however, thousands of Sikhs have fled the region to Pakistan or other parts of neighboring India, fearing terrorist attacks amid a rise in targeted killings.
“People of our religion have been targeted in Peshawar and I took the matter to court to ensure their safety,” Singh said. “All of them are grateful for the Peshawar High Court’s decision, however they are also hurt because they will need a license for kirpan, which will require renewal from time to time.”
Singh said he would now approach all “relevant fora” and work with MPs to advocate for exemption of licenses for kirpans.
Pakistan’s administration has often pledged to protect the rights of minority communities as it seeks to develop religious tourism in the country. It jointly created a visa-free border crossing with India – called the Kartarpur Corridor – to give easy access to Sikh pilgrims from the neighboring country to the final resting place of Guru Nanak. The corridor was inaugurated in 2019.
While violence against religious minorities, particularly Christian and Shia Muslims, has been a painfully familiar story in Pakistan, Sikhs have long been considered one of the country’s safest minorities. In Peshawar, they have been living in peace with Muslims for over 250 years, working mostly as traditional healers, and running pharmacies, cosmetics, and clothing stores.
But the killings in recent years have raised concerns that Sikhs may be the latest targets of terrorist groups in Pakistan, leaving members of the community uncertain about their future in the country.
Sikhs were not included in the 2017 population census and there is no solid data on their numbers, but social activists estimate that more than 60 percent of Peshawar’s 30,000 Sikhs have migrated to other parts of Pakistan or have moved to other parts of Pakistan in the past six years. Neighbors have moved to India over the years.
The religious group is also in constant conflict with the Pakistani government for the ownership of hundreds of its temples, called gurudwaras. Religious lands and temples cannot be sold under an agreement between Pakistan and India after the partition of India in 1947. But the people of the community complain that this rule has been violated.
Sikh temples and crematoriums are settled by the Evacuee Trust Property Board, the body responsible for the maintenance of properties left by those who left for India during the Partition.
Speaking to Arab News, rights activist Imran Takkar praised the court’s recent decision on the kirpan, calling it “important for citizenship rights in the country”.
He said: “All citizens have the right to practice their faith. We must make it easier for the Sikh community to do so.
“Pakistan should follow the example of US and European countries which have allowed Sikhs to carry kirpans.”
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