:dateline:Ranjit Singh�s court was one of the most magnificent in the�world. The Raja had scarlet tented pavilions set up on gold and�silver poles near the river.
His courtiers walked around like glittering�jewels. He created an atmosphere of religious tolerance in�which Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs lived together in harmony.
They settled in Peshawar, Orakzai, Kurram Agency, and North�and South Waziristan and since then, have made a name for�themselves in the fields of herbal medicine and cloth.
This year, the Sikhs of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa feel that the�harmony has been disturbed.�Harjeet lost his brother, Paramjeet, also a hakim, in a target�killing incident on March 13.
�We have been living here forever,��he said. �Our ancestors died here and while we never wanted�to leave the area, we might have to because of the security concerns.�
He added that they did not want to leave the land of their�grandfathers, and while it breaks their hearts, if the situation�remains miserable for them, they will have to do so.
Paramjeet Singh was gunned down in Shabqadar in the�middle of the bazaar by unidentified men. His employee�was also killed.�This led the Sikhs of K-P to stage a silent protest against target�killings.
On March 14, they carried black flags and demanded�the government should protect them and other minorities.�Before Paramjeet, there was Baghwan Singh, a Sikh hakim�who was shot dead by unidentified men in Charsadda�s Tangi�Bazaar on January 22.
The police said that he was a resident of�Dabgari and ran a medicine shop in the bazaar. He was on his�way home in the evening when two men opened fire at him.�A few weeks later, two Sikh hakims were kidnapped from DI�Khan.
They were in the area for business when the incident�took place and are still missing.�According to Hardyal Singh, the situation was alarming. �We�are a minority,� he said.
�Last month, Bhagwan Singh was shot�by target killers, and then two Sikhs were kidnapped from DI�Khan in the same month.� He added that incidents of Sikh kidnapping�and killings were on the rise and had become more�so in the last few months.
In the past, he said, Sikh families�from Kurram and Orakzai agencies were forced to flee the tribal�region because of unrest.
Many families sought refuge at Punja�Sahib in Hasanabdal, Punjab. Right now in Peshawar there are�about 200 Sikh families.�The chief minister, for his part, asked the police to find the�culprits.
When contacted, an official from the Tangi police station�told�The Express Tribune�that they had registered an FIR against�an unidentified person for Bhagwan Singh�s murder and had�to close the case as they did not know the identity of the killer�and no progress was made in the investigation.
In a conversation with the Shabqadar police, it was learnt�that the chief minister had given them three days to find�those responsible for killing Paramjeet.
But so far the police�have had no luck.
Haider Khan, an official from the Shabqadar police station,�said the DPO had put together a special team for the case and�they had traced some suspects but he was not in a position to�share the information.
He did, however, add that the hakim did not have any personal�enmity and he might have been killed because of his faith.�Mahmood Khan, who has worked with Paramjeet, said that�he had enjoyed his time with the man as he was peace loving�and would never hurt anyone.
He added that Paramjeet�s�patients would really suffer and those who had made progress�would now have to find another doctor for their ailments.�Paramjeet�s brother, Harjeet said that he was not satisfied�with the police investigation.
He added that there was no positive�response from the government.�The district police official of Charsadda, Shafiullah said the�deadline set by the chief minister had passed and they had�traced a suspect and would reach the main culprit.
He refused�to share further details.�According to Dr Soran Singh, the adviser to the CM on�minorities, there are about 25,000 Sikhs in the province ��mostly in Buner, Swat, DI Khan, Bara, Khyber, Kurram and�Orakzai agencies.
