Pakistan SC orders restoration of temple vandalised in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within two weeks
The temple was set on fire by a mob incited by a local cleric on December 30.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that a Hindu temple, which was set on fire and damaged by supporters of a local cleric in the country’s Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, be restored within two weeks, the Dawn reported.
The court also observed that the people who vandalised the temple should pay for its restoration. While hearing the matter on Tuesday, Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed said that the incident had caused “international embarrassment” to the country, according to the Dawn.
Earlier, Ahmed had taken suo motu cognisance of the incident which took place on December 30. He had also asked chief secretary and inspector general of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Shoaib Suddle, the head of a commission on minorities’ rights, to visit the site and submit a comprehensive report by January 4.
The chief justice also asked Evacuee Property Trust Board to submit details of all functional and non-functional temples and gurdwaras across the country. The board is a statutory body of the government of Pakistan which administers properties left behind by Hindus and Sikhs before migrating from the country.
In its report submitted to the court, Suddle recommended a comprehensive investigation into the incident and suggested that the home department should take steps to stop the entry of suspicious people inside the temple, reported the Hindustan Times. Besides, it said that suspects should be handed exemplary punishments.
On December 30, a mob, led by a local cleric and supporters of a religious political party, attacked the shrine after the Hindu community was granted permission from local authorities to renovate the temple. A First Information Report was registered against two local clerics identified as Maulana Faizullah and Maulvi Mohammad Sharif and many unidentified people.