On 22 February 2010, three

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

men were said to have been

beheaded Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common c ...

by the

Pakistani Taliban The Pakistani Taliban, officially the Tehreek-i-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, its current ...

groups in the

FATA The Federally Administered Tribal Areas, commonly known as FATA, was a autonomous administrative division, semi-autonomous tribal region in north-western Pakistan that existed from Independence Day (Pakistan), 1947 until being merged with the ...

region of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and their heads sent to a

gurudwara A gurdwara or gurudwara () is a place of assembly and worship in Sikhism, but its normal meaning is "place of guru" or "home of guru". Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths and religions are welcomed in gurd ...

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

, with one of them identified as Jaspal Singh. A

Press Trust of India The Press Trust of India Ltd., commonly known as PTI, is the largest news agency in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi and is a nonprofit cooperative among more than 450 Indian newspapers. It has over 500 full-time employees , including abo ...

report later quoted sources as saying there was confusion on the exact numbers. It said that two men were beheaded, with bodies of Jaspal found in

Khyber Agency Khyber District (, ) is a district in the Peshawar Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Until 2018, it was an agency of the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas. With the merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in ...

and Mahal Singh in

Orakzai Agency Orakzai District (, ) is a district in the Kohat Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Before 1973, it was part of FR Kohat. Up until 2018, it was an agency within the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas. However, ...

, while others were being held hostage. Pakistani officials maintained only Jaspal's body was found. In 2009, the Taliban had imposed

jizya Jizya (), or jizyah, is a type of taxation levied on non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Sharia, Islamic law. The Quran and hadiths mention jizya without specifying its rate or amount,Sabet, Amr (2006), ''The American Journal of Islamic Soc ...

on the community numbering 10,000 in

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

and the tribal belt, resulting in many fleeing to other Pakistani cities. The group demanded

Rs. Rupee (, ) is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Afri ...

30 million for the release of the abducted Sikhs. According to sources, two of the kidnapped Sikhs were killed after their relatives failed to pay the ransom. Two Sikhs, Sukhjeet Singh and Gurvinder Singh, were later rescued by Pakistani security forces. It was feared that the incident would adversely affect talks between India and Pakistan scheduled for 25 February. The men had gone to the tribal areas for work but were held by Taliban groups who apparently asked them to convert to Islam. The men resisted the conversion and were then beheaded. Indian government sources stated that their heads were thrown in a common area to create fear in the community. India condemned the incident with its

External Affairs Minister The minister of external affairs (or simply, the external affairs minister ''Hindi:'' ''Videsh Mantri'') is the head of the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most offices in the union cabinet, the chie ...

S. M. Krishna stating that it would figure in the talks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sikh Beheadings By Taliban Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2010 Persecution of Sikhs Sikhism in Pakistan Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan attacks Mass murder in 2010 People executed for refusing to convert to Islam 2010 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 21st-century mass murder in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa February 2010 in Pakistan 2010 murders in Pakistan 2010s crimes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa February 2010 crimes in Asia Islamic terrorist incidents in 2010 Terrorist incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa