Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has urged External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to take up with Islamabad the issue of alleged "forced conversion" of Sikhs to Islam in Pakistan.  

The chief minister said the external affairs minister's intervention in the matter would help protect the basic rights of the substantial Sikh community settled in Pakistan.  

His concern came amid reports that the Sikh community in Hangu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan had complained of such "conversions", allegedly by a government official.  

The Sikh community, which had been living in the Khyber area for more than a century, was reported to have filed an official complaint to the district deputy commissioner. "It is the responsibility of the Indian authorities to intervene in the matter and ensure that the said coercion is brought to an end.  

"We are duty-bound to protect the identity of Sikhs, wherever they may be living," Amarinder said in an official release here. Describing the incident as "religious torture", the Punjab chief minister said it was a serious matter, especially since the so-called "forced conversions" were allegedly being spearheaded by a government official.  

"Religious freedom is the right of every human being and should be upheld by all countries in the larger interest of humanity," the 75-year-old chief minister added. PTI