ISLAMABAD: Imran Chishti, the man who allegedly incited violence against Sikhs in Nankana Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan earlier this week, has been arrested by police on Sunday. Chisti was arrested after massive public outcry and criticism of the Pakistani government for not taking action against those who attacked the Sikhs at the Nankana Sahib Gurdwara.
Interestingly, Chishti had released an apology video from his home over the incident. Chishti had reportedly led a violent mob of local residents on Friday that vandalised the Nankana Gurdwara Sahib and pelted stones.
Chishti is the brother of Ehsaan, the man who is accused of abducting a Sikh girl Jagjit Kaur, the daughter of the Gurdwara`s 'panthi'. The mob was also seen shouting anti-Sikh slogans outside Nankana Sahib. In video clips tweeted on social media, Chishti spewed anti-Sikh slurs. On late Friday, he released a video message, where he called off the protest because his family members were released by the police.
Meanwhile, the Imran Khan government said that the incident in Nankana Sahib goes against his vision and will find zero tolerance and protection from the government including police and judiciary, unlike the Indian government.
Imran took to microblogging site Twitter and said, "The major difference between the condemnable Nankana incident and the ongoing attacks across India on Muslims and other minorities is this: the former is against my vision and will find zero tolerance and protection from the government including police and judiciary..."
The major difference between the condemnable Nankana incident & the ongoing attacks across India on Muslims & other minorities is this: the former is against my vision & will find zero tolerance & protection from the govt incl police & judiciary;
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) January 5, 2020
Khan further launched an attack on the Narendra Modi government and accused them of supporting operation against minorities in the country. Khan said in a series of tweet said, ''In contrast, Modi's RSS vision supports minorities oppression and the targeted attacks against Muslims are part of this agenda. RSS goons conducting public lynchings, Muslims being violated by mobs are all not only supported by Modi Govt but Indian police lead the anti-Muslim attack.''
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, on Friday evening, tweeted that it was alarmed by the situation in Nankana Sahib. It urged the Punjab government to ensure the safety and security of the Sikh community and their holy places.
India strongly condemned the "wanton acts of destruction and desecration" at Nankana Sahib Gurdwara and called upon Pakistan to take immediate steps to ensure the safety and welfare of the members of the Sikh community.
On Friday (January 3), the Nankana Sahib Gurdwara was attacked by a mob while Sikh devotees were inside the shrine. The mob that had gathered outside raised communal slogans against the minority Sikh community and pelted stones at the shrine.
Videos of the incident were widely circulated on social media. Gurdwara Nankana Sahib was built at the place where Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev was born.
