Chandigarh: The SAD today urged Pakistan High Commissioner in India, Sohail Mahmood, to ensure protection to the Sikh families living in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa after reports said they were being forced to convert to Islam by a government official in the northwestern province. A delegation of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), led by party president Sukhbir Singh Badal met Mahmood in New Delhi and sought Pakistan government's intervention to stop the reported attempts being made to convert Sikhs to Islam.   

The meeting came a day after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said India will take up the issue at the highest level in the Pakistan government. The Express Tribune, a leading Pakistan daily, this week published a news story about the Sikh community raising serious concerns after being forced to convert to Islam by the government official in Hangu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. 

The SAD delegation also urged the Pakistan high commissioner to take strict action against any official who coerced Sikhs to convert to Islam, a SAD statement said here. The SAD members requested Mahmood that a party delegation is allowed to visit the Sikh families in Pakistan's northwest. Mahmood told the delegation that an officer of the provincial administration had an altercation with the Sikh community members and that he had been suspended. A committee has been formed to probe the matter, he added, according to the statement.   

Badal also brought to the notice of the Pakistan high commissioner that the Akal Takht was the supreme religious authority of the Sikhs and dates decided by it to mark religious events should be adhered by the Pakistan government. He said it was unfortunate that a small group of unelected representatives were deciding the dates in Pakistan.   

Badal, meanwhile, also took up the conversion of Sikhs in Pakistan with External Affairs Minister Swaraj. Swaraj assured the SAD president that her ministry would take up the issue of forcible conversions with the Pakistan government and safety of the Sikh community residing in that country would be ensured, the statement added.