December 29, 2021 | Massimo Introvigne | BItter Winter

An attack against a Sikh place of worship took place on November 27 at Gurdwara Shri Guru Harkrishen Sahib situated at Village Kot Meer Badan Khan Bajarani in Kashmore district’s Karampur tehsil.

Attackers targeted the holy book Guru Granth Sahib, tore its pages, and threw them on the ground. For Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib is more than sacred scripture. When their last guru, Gobind Singh Ji, passed away in 1708, he told his followers that their next and perpetual guru will not be a human being but the Guru Granth Sahib. The book is approached by Sikhs with great reverence, and desecrating it has the same sacrilegious meaning of attacking the Quran for Muslims.

Money was also stolen from the golak, which is the collection book placed in front of the Guru Granth Sahib.

Local Sikhs complained that the police did not seem to take an interest in the attack, and did not even register a FIR (first information report) as it should be usual in these cases.

The incident confirms the precarious situation of Sikhs in Pakistan who, not less than Christians and Hindus, are exposed to sectarian violence.