New Delhi: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday ordered the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to restore the temple of Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj along with the Krishna Dwara Mandir in Teri village of Karak district in 14 days.
The SC of Pakistan ordered the Auqaf department and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to start the work instantly and submit the progress report in two weeks. The chief justice also observed that the people who vandalised the temple should pay for its restoration.
All temples in Pakistan come under the Auqaf department.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan – Gulzar Ahmed took the suo motu notice of the attack on the place of worship.
The Minority lawmaker Ramesh Kumar met the Chief Justice in Karachi last week and briefed him about the incident.
A few days back, Hindu temple was vandalized by some Islamist extremists.
Earlier, a former police Chief Muhammad Shoaib Suddle had prepared the report on the Karak temple vandalism and the one-man commission on the rights of minorities at the Supreme Court submitted its report.
The commission recommended a comprehensive investigation into the vandalism of the temple.
According to a report “Maulvi Sharif is the main suspect in the case, is believed to have incited people to carry out violence.”
Report also recommended that “The home department should take steps to stop the entry of suspicious people inside the temple. Exemplary punishment should be handed out to suspects to prevent such incidents in the future.”
The first case of temple demolition in Pakistan – occurred in 1997 and after the intervention of Pakistani Supreme Court in 2015 – the local community had agreed to reconstruct the temple.
In the latest incident of temple demolition – Local police have detained 14 people so far.
-Vinayak
