A century-old Hindu temple, which was vandalised & set on fire by an irate mob of radicals in northwest Pakistan in 2020, has been opened to devotees by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed who had ordered authorities to reconstruct it, according to a media report on Tuesday.
In Dec 2020, century-old Shri Param Hans Ji Maharaj temple in Teri village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Karak district was vandalised & demolished by a mob led by some local clerics belonging to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F).
Chief Justice Ahmed at the time ordered authorities to reconstruct the temple & instructed them to recover the money for the restoration work from the attackers whose act had caused "international embarrassment" to Pakistan.
On Monday, the Chief Justice of Pakistan attended a grand function at the rebuilt temple to celebrate Diwali festival & to express solidarity with the members of the Hindu community, the Express Tribune newspaper reported.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Chief Justice Ahmed said that the Supreme Court of Pakistan has always taken steps to protect the rights of minorities & it would continue to do so in the future, the paper reported.
According to the Constitution, the Hindus enjoy the same rights as people of other religions in Pakistan, he was quoted as saying by the paper.
While assuring that the Supreme Court will ensure protection of religious freedom to the country's minority communities, he asserted that no one has the authority to destroy or harm a religious place of worship belonging to another community.
The community presented the Chief Justice with a turban & a digital Quran.
He was invited to the event by the Pakistan Hindu Council, which also hosted pilgrims from Sindh & Balochistan provinces.
Pakistan Hindu Council patron-in-chief & member of the National Assembly Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani expressed gratitude to the measures taken by the Chief Justice & the Supreme Court, the report said.
Dr Vankwani, a senior leader of the ruling Tehreek-e-Insaaf Party headed by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, said that if similar steps are taken to inaugurate four other historic temples, it would help improve the country's image in the world, the report said.
The rebuilt shrine is associated with a saint, Shri Param Hans Ji Maharaj, in Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where the temple was established in 1920.
Last month, the Pakistan top court also ordered the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government to recover $1,94,161 from the culprits involved in vandalising the shrine.
More than 100 people who were involved in the incident were arrested, as per the top court directive.
In 1997, the shrine was first attacked & severely damaged, & Dr Vankwani had approached the Supreme Court in 2015 seeking help to restore the holy place & restart the annual pilgrimage.
After the Supreme Court issued directives to the provincial government to restore & preserve the Teri temple, the Pakistan Hindu Council started holding the annual fair in 2015.
Since the temple is being managed by the local Hindu families, it comes administratively under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province government & not under the Evacuee Trust Property Board's control.
Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan.
According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in the country.
The majority of Pakistan's Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions & language with Muslim residents. They often complain of harassment by extremists.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the LatestLaws staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source Link
