"The Sikhs' problems could be solved if the community is given representation in the government or if a Sikh is appointed an adviser to the prime minister," said Swaran Singh, candidate for the post of president of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee.

He suggested that an adviser to the Prime Minister should be appointed to attract Sikhs from other countries to invest in Pakistan. Christians and Hindus have representations in the government, but Sikhs have yet to reach the national or provincial assemblies, he said.

There are about 12,000 Sikhs in Pakistan who have been facing several social and political problems.

Singh said every community has its own problems and its representatives take them up, but the Sikhs of Pakistan have been ignored so far.

"Christians and Hindus do not have any idea about the problems faced by Sikhs," he told the Daily Times.

He said many Sikh youths were deprived of quality higher education because they did not have any scholarship quota in the Higher Education Commission.