KARACHI, Aug 13: Condemning the attack on a Sikh temple and killing of six persons, including a woman, in the United States recently, the Pakistan Sikh Council has urged the US administration to institute a fair inquiry into the issue and bring the real culprits to justice.

Speaking at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Monday, PSC chief Sardar Ramesh Singh recalled that while Sikh community members were performing their rites in the temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, on Aug 5, Wade Michael Page opened indiscriminate fire on them, killing Prakash Singh, Sita Singh, Ranjit Singh, Suveg Singh and Paramjit Kaur.

He said police official Lt Brian Murphy reacted instantly and shot the killer dead though he, too, was injured in the shooting. An accomplice of the killer, waiting in the nearby parking lot, escaped.

He demanded that efforts be made to arrest that person so the actual culprits behind the massacre could be uncovered.

Mr Singh also condemned the killing of Myanmar Muslims and urged the United Nations and human rights organisations to force the Myanmar government to provide security to the Muslim minority there.

Responding to a question regarding Hindus’ migration from the interior of Sindh to India, he said many members of the Hindu community had big businesses and industries in Jacobabad and Ghotki districts and other areas and many of them were kidnapped for ransom.

He said the trend was deplorable and the government should take concrete measures to stop it. He, however, added that they were not migrating to India, or to any other country as was being reported.

He said groups of Hindus and Sikhs regularly went to India for pilgrimage and they were issued month-long visas. After visiting their religious places in India, they returned to their homes here and that practice had continued for many years.