In Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, a violent religious mob has set fire to a Hindu temple and tried to smash it to the ground.
Thousands of people, led by Islamic clerics, stormed a Hindu temple in Teri village in Karak district on Wednesday, tearing down bricks from the walls and setting them on fire.
No one was inside the temple at that time. Footage from the scene showed crowds chanting slogans and cheering for the destruction.
A Hindu temple was demolished by religious extremists in Karak today. It is a very embarrassing moment for us because it reflects the way we treat minorities in our country.
You cannot run a federation unless the rights of minorities are protected. Strictly cynical. pic.twitter.com/PJOKZA3a1l– Ihtesham Afghan (@ Ihtesham Afghan) December 30, 2020
The temple was first constructed in 1919 before the partition of India and Pakistan, and was recently renovated in 2015 following a Supreme Court order. This is the second time it has been demolished since the 1997 incident. By a group of Muslim fundamentalists.
Police and guards were deployed outside amid fears of security for the temple.
“It was beautifully renovated and the community loved the work but it was always under threat from extremists who destroyed it one last time,” said a local resident who asked not to be named. Was. “I can’t say how much it was destroyed but people say it was badly damaged.”
Anger began in recent days after the construction of a small property next to the temple, which locals mistakenly believed was an unauthorized expansion of the temple.
Speaking to the Dawn newspaper, another local resident said: “More than a thousand people, led by some local elders of the religious party, protested and demanded the removal of the Hindu place. Residents of nearby villages announced the protest a few days ago which was completely ignored by the police. “
Police confirmed that it had given permission for a peaceful protest, but after inflammatory speeches after the people of privation vethya “took the law into their own hands”.
Lalchand Malhi, a politician from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, condemned the devastation as an “unfortunate incident”.
“Police officials have assured me that they will arrest the culprits as soon as possible.”
Human Rights Minister Shirin Mazari tweeted: “Strong condemnation of the burning of a Hindu temple by a mob in Khairpukhtunakhwa. The KP government will have to ensure the culprits [are] Justice done. “
Mazari said the government would investigate the incident. “As a government, we have a responsibility to ensure the safety and security of all our citizens and their places of worship,” he said.
As an Islamic state, Pakistan has always been hostile to its Hindu minority and Hindu monasteries have been vandalized or become symbols of violence. A Hindu temple in Karachi was vandalized earlier this year after a local Hindu boy was accused of slander.
In July, Islamic activists blocked the construction of the first Hindu temple in Islamabad by challenging the courts. However, the project was approved last week by the Council of Islamic Ideology, a state body.
