100-Year-Old Hindu Temple Demolished In Pakistan
ISLAMABAD-A Hindu temple, constructed over 100 years ago, has been demolished in Narowal city of Pakistan’s Punjab province, sparking concerns among minority rights activists.
The Pakistan Masiha Millat Party (PMMP), which works for the rights of minorities, has alleged that the structure was intentionally demolished to make space for the expansion of an adjacent seminary and called for the temple to be reconstructed in its original form, local media reported.
The temple in Siraj village in Narowal city was demolished on August 21. The Pakistan Masiha Millat Party said that a group of people demolished the structure, the country’s leading daily Dawn reported.
PMMP Chairman Aslam Parvez Sahotra said he and other local residents submitted a written application to the Punjab Additional Home Secretary on August 28, requesting authorities to take action against those behind the demolition and officials who failed to protect the religious site.
Sahotra said the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) had leased the land near the temple to a seminary. However, he said the lease was cancelled after the rent remained unpaid for several years. He said parts of the property were later occupied illegally, Dawn reported.
He said an order issued by the ETPB Deputy Director in Sialkot in January, cancelling the seminary’s lease and ordering the eviction of illegal occupants and sealing of the property, was “never implemented.”
The Pakistan Masiha Millat Party called for the temple to be reconstructed in its original form and urged the Punjab government to protect temples, gurdwaras and churches and their properties.
The demolition comes after another historic religious site was destroyed in Pakistan earlier this year. In June, portions of the 125-year-old Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Sahib in Farooqabad were left in rubble after a local businessman allegedly carried out the work without legal clearance or a court order. Authorities acknowledged the demolition only after Sikh residents of Farooqabad took to the streets to protest the incident, a report had detailed. (IANS)
