New Delhi: The Pakistan Supreme Court on Tuesday described as “international shame to Pakistan” the demolition of a Hindu temple in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region by an Islamist mob and directed its reconstruction, whose cost will be recovered from the cleric responsible.
The apex court also asked the ETPB to collect the reconstruction cost from Maulvi Mohammad Sharif, the suspected key conspirator behind the vandalism incident.
The century-old temple had been vandalized and set afire on December 30, 2020, the daily Dawn reported.
The temple in Terri village in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Karak district, which also had a samadhi (shrine) of a Hindu saint, was attacked by the mob after the Hindu community received permission from local authorities to renovate its building.
The mob, led by some local clerics and supporters of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party (Fazal ur-Rehman group), demolished the newly-constructed work alongside the old structure.
The apex court ordered the Evacuee Property Trust Board (EPTB) to start the reconstruction of the temple while also directing it to submit details of all functional and non-functional temples and gurdwaras across the country.
The ETBP is a statutory board of the Government of Pakistan that administers properties left behind by Hindus and Sikhs who migrated to India after Partition.
Regretting that the incident has caused “an international embarrassment to Pakistan”, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed directed the EPTB to clear encroachments from temples across the country and take action against those found involved in the encroachments.
Officials informed the court that 109 people had been arrested on charges of vandalism while 92 police officials, including the superintendent of police (SP) and deputy superintendent of police (DSP), who were on duty at the time, have been suspended.
The Supreme Court acted on a plea by Hindu lawmaker Ramesh Kumar, who told the court that the shrine was also damaged in 1997.
The mob had also looted valuables from the temple after setting the site on fire but the station house officer and DSP concerned apparently did not take any action.
The attack on the temple drew condemnation from human rights activists and the minority Hindu community leaders.
India also lodged a protest with Pakistan over the vandalization of the temple and sought strict action against the culprits.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan assured reconstruction of the damaged temple and the samadhi at the earliest.
Hindus form the largest minority community in Pakistan. According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan. However, according to the community, over 90 lakh Hindus are living in the country.
(VP)