Indian community in PH calls for vigilance amid India-Pakistan conflict

The Indian community in the Philippines has called for vigilance and prayers amid the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict that has claimed several lives over the past few days. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

MANILA, Philippines — The Indian community in the Philippines has called for vigilance and prayers amid the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict that has claimed several lives over the past few days.

Khalsa Diwan Indian Sikh Temple Manila chairman Manjinder Kumar condemned the Pakistani firing attack in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir in India that killed around 11 people last Thursday.

READ: India launches strikes on Pakistan, Islamabad vows retaliation

“Let us remain vigilant against all forms of oppression—whether religious or otherwise,” Kumar said in a statement on Friday.

Kumar also asked “for everyone’s prayers regardless of race or religion, during this perilous time when an individual’s faith may put his life at risk.”

On behalf of the Indian community in the country, he also expressed condolences to the survivors and families of victims of the conflict.

The two South Asian countries have exchanged missile and artillery strikes after a deadly attack in Kashmir, India. The crisis was triggered by an April 22 militant attack on tourists in Kashmir that killed 26 people.

READ: India-Pakistan clashes: What we know

While no one claimed the attack, New Delhi said that the perpetrators were from Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, a UN-designated terror organization which has a history of planting attacks in India.

However, Islamabad denied the group’s connection to the Pakistani military establishment.