By Aarti Tikoo Singh

New Delhi, Apr 11 (IANS): Sikh leader and Congress MP Pratap Singh Bajwa has urged the government to prevent Pakistani interference in the investigation of the Kabul gurdwara terror attack in which 25 Sikhs were killed by the Islamic State (Khorasan Province) recently.

Bajwa, who is a Rajya Sabha member from Punjab, in a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar pointed out that the Imran Khan government on April 9 had asked Afghanistan to hand over the recently arrested Islamic State terrorist involved to Pakistan.

The Afghan security forces had arrested Farooqi on April 5 for the March 25 terror attack on the Sikhs at the gurdwara. The Indian security agencies believe that Farooqi was earlier a member of the banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Pakistan's demand for Farooqi's custody, Bajwa said, "is an attempt by Pakistan to hide information regarding their involvement in the terror attack."

Any coercion to release the terrorist, he said, will negatively impact the investigation into the case.

"This would further harm the safety and security of Sikhs in Afghanistan," Bajwa said.

Though the Afghanistan government on April 10 declined Pakistan's request, Bajwa pleaded with the central government to ensure that all steps were taken to prevent Pakistan's interference in the case.