The first public school for Pakistan’s Sikh community is nearing completion in Peshawar, with “90 percent of construction work” completed, according to a news outlet.
According to the report, work on the project began almost two years ago when a plot of land in the Jogan Shah Mohalla in the old city was purchased.
A woman from outside Pakistan donated Rs20 million, with which the community purchased eight marlas of land. Following the purchase of land, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government began construction work.
According to the report, a school in Peshawar has long been a demand of Sikhs from the province and tribal areas.
However, in response to Sikh community demands for a new school, Atif Khan, the former provincial education minister and current food minister announced the project for the Sikh community’s first government school.
The government tasked the Sikh community with acquiring land so that the school could be built. Six months after purchasing the land, the KP government began construction on the site.
“The establishment of the special Sikh school would also send a message to those across the border,” Dr. Sahib Singh, chairman of the National Commission for Peace Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, was quoted as saying in the report.
The project will be the first of its kind, allowing children from the Sikh community and other minorities to receive an education.
