The Evacuee Property Trust Board (EPTB) was ordered on Thursday to begin the rebuilding, by a hundred-year-old Samadhi (shrine) of a Hindu saint in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa district of Karak, destroyed by the mob in December, and to send all functioning and non-functional places and hindu temples in the region.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed made note of the attack in the shrine last month and ordered the KP head of spot checks and a recent explanation to be submitted by the Chief Secretary, the IG inspector, as well as the head of the Minority Committee, Dr Shoaib Suddle.
Established in 1920, a large mob destroyed the temple after the local elders of the religious group demanded the removal of the temple during their fiery speeches during the protests.
Although there are no Hindus, devotees also visit the temple and its temple to pay tribute to Shri Hindu Saint Param Hans Ji Mahaaraj, who died in the place. It is the fourth most sacred Hindu site.
In today’s hearing, the EPTB was also led, by a three-man bench headed by the chief justice, to resolve temples all throughout country and to take measures against officials engaged in invasions.
Judge Ahmed observed “international embarrassment to Pakistan“
At today’s hearing were also the general secretary of the KP, the police chief of the KP and Dr Suddle. Dr Suddle told the court that the KP EPTB “did not protect the shrine” and the Inspector General had been asked by Justice Ijazul Ahsan about the potential occurrence of that case when there had been a police checkpoint next to the shrine. He asked, “Where were your intelligence agencies?”
The KP IG claimed that on the day that Maulana Faizullah sponsored an incident, a protest from the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) took place near the site.
The SC has also been told of 109 vandalisms arrested and 92 police officers suspended including SP and Deputy Commissioner of Police (DSP) who are now on duty. They have been arrested.
The KP IG admitted that “Ninety-two police officers were on site, but coward ship and incompetence was shown,”
A chief justice says, “deportation isn’t enough”
The Justice said of the mob, that hammers used it to burn the temple walls to burn the building, “It escaped punishment.
“Your employees also work on property in temples.” Arrest everyone and continue restoring the temple.
The President of the EPTB advised the Court that the shrine is run by the Hindu community itself, so that EPTB officers were not there. There was no functional practice.
However, Ramesh Kumar, Chairman of the Pakistan Hindu Council, disputed statements of the Chairman of the EPTB and told the court that fairs took place at the shrine and about 300-400 Hindus visited each month.
The council, after rejecting the EPTB, donated [own] funds for restoration, said Kumar. “In 1997 the temple Damaged.
Judge Ahsan noted the EPTB “has the money to construct its own buildings but does not have money for Hindus”
The bench ordered the tribunal to apply to the court within two weeks reports of operating and non-functional shrine, EPTB land dispute records and an EPTB chairman’s report on results. The EPTB division of the KP was also led to participate in discussions with the Minorities Provincial Committee.
The court in Apex said that a thorough verdict would be given later and the hearing would be suspended for two weeks.
A mob led by some local clerics and supporters of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party (Fazal-ur-Rehman group) in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province heard a case of vandalism at a Hindu temple in the Supreme Court today. During the hearing, the Supreme Court ordered the reconstruction of the temple. The court on Tuesday passed the order to the Evacuee Property Trust Board (EPTB). The court also said that the attack was causing “embarrassment” to the country at the international level.
The Supreme Court Sought Details of All the Temples And Gurdwaras
The Supreme Court had taken cognizance of the attack and ordered local authorities to appear in court on January 5. The court directed the board to submit to the court the details of all such temples and gurdwaras in Pakistan which are on or off. The court has ordered recovery from those who built the temple and sabotaged it in two weeks.
So Far More Than 100 Accused Have Been Arrested
Let it be known that in Terry village of Karak district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, some people had vandalized and set fire to the temple last Wednesday in protest of the expansion work. More than 350 people have been nominated in the FIR registered in connection with this incident. So far more than 100 accused have been arrested in this case.
Samadhi of a Hindu Religious Leader
The Hindu community had sought permission from the local authorities to renovate the decades-old building of the temple. The crowd led to the destruction both of its old structure and new building work, by local clerics and members of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Party (Group Fazal-ur-Rehman).
India Also lodged a Protest With Pakistan
The attack on the temple was strongly condemned by human rights activists and leaders of the minority Hindu community. India has also demonstrated with Pakistan against the vandalism in the temple and called for stern action against its perpetrators. Sources had said in New Delhi on Friday that protests had been lodged with Pakistan through diplomatic channels.
Commission Report
The Shoaib Suddle Committee proposed the opening of four Hindu temples to foreign tourists one day earlier in its inquiry before the Supreme Court.
The study recommended that the four-fault proof protection and adequate lodging and accommodation arrangements be given for the 4 sites — Param Ji Maharaj Samadhi/Mandir in Teri town in Karak KP district; Hinglaj Mata Mandir, Hingol National Park in Lasbela Balochistan district; Katas Raj in Chakwal district Punjab’s and Parhlad Bhagat Mandir, Punjab district Multan.
The report found out that the disastrous action on 30 December in the presence of the police not only hurt the feelings of the Hindu community, and of minority groups as a whole; it also made Pakistan ashamed by tarnishing the reputation of the country at the international level.
In his study, Dr. Suddle emphasized that after the position shot, the mob also plundered value from the temple, but that there was evidently no intervention on the part of the station house and the DSP involved to check the situation.