One person was arrested after a Hindu temple was desecrated in Sindh province, southeastern Pakistan.
Local police registered an FIR on the incident at the Shri Ramdev temple in the Kario Ghanwar area of Badin district and arrested Muhammad Ismail Sheedi, a local, who was named by the whistleblower Ashok Kumar as the person believed to have caused desecration.
Police officer Badin Shabir Sethar told local media that he had ordered an investigation and requested an investigation report within 24 hours.
He also said that he suspected the accused was ill. “We have yet to confirm whether he (Ismail) is mentally stable and intentionally destroyed the murtis (idols),” he said, adding that Ismail is also a drug addict.
Hindus form the largest minority community in Pakistan.
The community resides mainly in the province of Sindh. Kario Ghanwar is home to the Kolhi, Menghwar, Guwaria and Karia Hindu communities.
According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan.
Incidents of violence against the minority community in Sindh have been frequently reported.
Condemning the vandalism, London-based Pakistani human rights activist and spokesperson for Justice for Minorities in Pakistan, Anila Gulzar, said there are only 20 temples left out of 428.
“I strongly condemn the brutal act of vandalism committed against Shri Ram Mandir in Badin Sindh Pakistan on October 10. Out of 428, there are only 20 mandirs left in Sindh, ”Gulzar said in a Facebook post.
In May, the Pakistan Human Rights Commission condemned the demolition of houses of people from the Hindu and Christian communities in the city of Bahawalpur in Punjab province.
A video of a similar incident appeared on the internet earlier this year in which a basti of a Hindu minority community in Bhawalpur was demolished. The demolition exercise was carried out under the supervision of Tariq Bashir Cheema, the Imran Khan government’s housing minister, and the country’s chief information officer, Shahid Khokhar.
(With contributions from Agencies)
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