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Pakistani Sikhs open temple after 73 years, risking attacks

In this Monday, April 25, 2016 photo, a Pakistani policeman stands guard outside the 300-year-old gurdwara or place of worship for Pakistan's Sikh minority, in Peshawar. While Sikhs celebrated the opening of their gurdwara, its neighbors all of whom are Muslim told The Associated Press that they either didn't want them there or were worried that an attack by militants was certain to happen. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)
In this Monday, April 25, 2016 photo, a Pakistani policeman stands guard outside the 300-year-old gurdwara or place of worship for Pakistan's Sikh minority, in Peshawar. While Sikhs celebrated the opening of their gurdwara, its neighbors all of whom are Muslim told The Associated Press that they either didn't want them there or were worried that an attack by militants was certain to happen. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad) In this Monday, April 25, 2016 photo, a Pakistani policeman stands guard outside the 300-year-old gurdwara or place of worship for Pakistan's Sikh minority, in Peshawar. While Sikhs celebrated the opening of their gurdwara, its neighbors all of whom are Muslim told The Associated Press that they either didn't want them there or were worried that an attack by militants was certain to happen. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

By Associated Press 5 min read

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) – An armed policeman stood guard outside the 300-year-old Sikh temple, known as a gurdwara, in northwest Pakistan. He kept a watchful eye on everyone who passed him on the narrow street, looking for a suspicious gesture, or a bulge beneath the clothes that hints at a hidden gun or a bomb.

Earlier this month, the gurdwara in Peshawar’s crowded Old City opened its doors to worshippers for the first time in 73 years. The reopening was celebrated by Pakistan’s tiny Sikh minority, but security is a constant concern.

On Friday, a Sikh leader and provincial lawmaker was shot and killed outside his home in a remote area in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province, some 140 kilometers (86 miles) from Peshawar. The murder of Sardar Suran Singh devastated the Sikh community and heightened their fears of militant attacks.

It also added to human rights activists’ despair over rising violence against religious minorities in Pakistan.

“It is tragic, but this is the trend in Pakistan right now. It is increasingly intolerant,” said Zohra Yusuf, chairwoman of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).