Slain Sikh Marine family hurt by Donald Trump’s remarks

Voicing support for a fallen Pakistani-origin American soldier’s parents who had come under attack from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, the family of a slain Sikh Marine has said they were “hurt” by his remarks and it amounted to playing “political games”.

Five years after he was shot to death by enemy fighters in Afghanistan, Marine Cpl. Gurpreet Singh’s bedroom is still decorated in red, white and blue and his dress uniform hangs in his closet with medals pinned to it.

His father, Nirmal Singh, keeps a poster on a wall in his home in Antelope, California, calling the corporal an American hero.

Mr Singh and his family have spent much of the past week watching the immigrant parents of another fallen military service member spar with Republican presidential candidate Mr Trump.

“It hurts. I don’t know why. It’s like they’re playing political games with a Gold Star family,” Mr Singh told the Sacramento Bee.

Gold Star families are immediate relatives of US Armed Forces members who died in battle or in support of certain military activities.

Many military families around the country have been surprised by Mr Trump’s criticism of the parents of the late Army Captain Humayun Khan after they endorsed Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and rebuked the Republican presidential candidate at the Democratic National Convention at Philadelphia in July. Mr Trump’s tactics drew condemnation from leaders of the groups Veterans of Foreign Wars and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Gold Star Wives and the grief-counselling nonprofit Tragedy Assistance Programme for Survivors also stepped in to criticise the business tycoon.

The Singhs identify with the Khans, a Muslim family of Pakistani descent, who, like them, lost a son to their adopted nation’s wars. Nirmal Singh said he often met other immigrants when he gets in touch with Marines.