PESHAWAR: The Pakistani Taliban have claimed the killing of a provincial minister for minority affairs who was shot dead in a restive northwestern district.
Gunmen on motorbikes stopped Sardar Soran Singh’s car in Buner district, some 160 kilometers northeast of Peshawar, Friday evening and opened fire, killing him on the spot.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the killing of Singh, who was minority affairs minister for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“These activities will continue until implementation of Islamic system in Pakistan,” Muhammad Khurasani, spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, said in an e-mailed statement late Friday.
Singh’s murder was widely condemned by his fellow lawmakers and rights activists.
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, whose Pakistan-Tehreek Insaf (PTI) party rules the restive northwestern province, urged his government to set up an inquiry commission.
“Shocked at murder of PTI’s KP MPA & Minorities Minister Sooran Singh. KP govt must immed set up inquiry. A great loss for all of us,” Khan tweeted.
“When will Pakistan stop targeting minorities?” Twitter user Saqeena Qasim said.
Others expressed similar views.
“Tragic minority Soran Singh targeted by terrorists. He was a symbol of Pakistan’s bright inclusive future — May many Soran Singhs now rise!” tweeted Meriam Sabih.
In 2011, the Pakistani Taliban shot dead a Christian minorities minister in Islamabad.
Discrimination and violence against religious minorities is commonplace in Pakistan.
Pakistan Taliban claim killing of Sikh minister
Pakistan Taliban claim killing of Sikh minister
US designates Afghanistan as ‘state sponsor of wrongful detention’
- “The Taliban continues to use terrorist tactics, kidnapping individuals for ransom or to seek policy concessions,” Rubio says
WASHINGTON, United States: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday he has designated Afghanistan as a “State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention,” demanding Taliban authorities release two Americans and commit to ending its “hostage diplomacy.”
The move comes just over a week after Iran became the first country added to Washington’s new “wrongful detention” blacklist.
President Donald Trump in September signed an executive order that created the blacklist, similar to designations by the United States on terrorism.
“The Taliban continues to use terrorist tactics, kidnapping individuals for ransom or to seek policy concessions,” Rubio said in a statement.
He said it was “not safe for Americans to travel to Afghanistan because the Taliban continues to unjustly detain our fellow Americans and other foreign nationals.”
“The Taliban needs to release Dennis Coyle, Mahmoud Habibi, and all Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan now and commit to cease the practice of hostage diplomacy forever,” he added.
Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman, previously served as Afghanistan’s director of civil aviation.
He was arrested in August 2022 in Kabul along with dozens of other employees of his telecommunications company, according to US authorities.
The State Department has issued a reward of $5 million for information leading to Habibi’s return.
Coyle is an academic from Colorado who worked for two decades in Afghanistan before being detained in January 2025, according to the James Foley Foundation.
