Pakistani Taliban militants have shot dead a prominent Sikh figure and opposition party worker on April 22, in the latest attack on a religious minority in the predominantly Muslim country.

Soran Singh was a leading figure in Pakistan's small Sikh community and an adviser to a provincial chief minister, Imran Khan's opposition Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI) party.

Singh was attacked by gunmen in his native village in the Buner valley in northwest Pakistan.

Pakistani Taliban spokesman Mohammad Khurasani said the group carried out the killing.

"These activities will continue until implementation of an Islamic system in Pakistan," Khurasani said in an e-mailed statement.

"The brutal killing of Soran Singh is extremely saddening," Khan said in a statement, describing Singh as a patriotic Pakistani and loyal party worker.

Sikhs make up less than 1 percent of Pakistan's 190 million people. Many see Pakistan as the place where their religion began.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP