Peshawar: Sikhs in Peshawar have staged a protest after unknown assailants gunned down two Sikh traders on the outskirts of the city on Sunday.

They marched from Mohalla Jogan Shah towards Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Chowk, demanding arrest of the killers immediately.

Peshawar Capital City Police Officer Ijaz Khan said the incident took place in the jurisdiction of Sarband police station. He identified the victims as 42-year-old Saljeet Singh and 38-year-old Ranjeet Singh.

Khan termed the incident as target killing, saying the assailants used Kalashnikov and fled Batatal Bazar, the place where the incident happened, immediately.

Police has started search operation for arrest of the killers, while the bodies were shifted to a nearby hospital for postmortem and then handed over to the bereaved families.

Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the killings and urged KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan to ensure safety of citizens in the province, especially non-Muslim Pakistanis.

He directed Khan to arrest the killers as soon as possible and convict them according to the law.

“We will eradicate enemies of the country who are behind this terrorism activity,” he said.

The premier extended heartfelt condolences to bereaved and ensure full cooperation of the federal government in arrest of the killers.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah also condemned the incident and said the provincial government has failed to safeguard minority community in the province. He asked a report from KP chief secretary and IGP police.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, in a statement, also condemned the killings, saying no one will be allowed to disturb inter-faith harmony in the country and harm national unity.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister took notice of the incident and asked a report from KP Inspector General Police Muazzam Jah Ansari.

Last year, the militant Islamic State killed 45-year-old Satnam Singh in Peshawar in another incident of violence against Sikhs in the province.