Bureau Report
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan announced on Friday that the provincial government will rebuild Karak’s Hindu temple that was vandalised and burned by a mob.
In a statement, the chief minister said the government will ensure the temple is rebuilt without delay and that the authorities concerned have already been issued directives for the purpose.“We will ensure protection of sacred places of minorities at any cost,” he reiterated, adding those involved in the tragic incident have been apprehended and strict action will be taken against them.
CM Mahmood declared that no one will be allowed to take law into their hands.A day earlier, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed took notice of the tragic incident and directed the KP chief secretary and the provincial police chief to submit a report in this regard by Monday.
Earlier, at least 300 people have been booked Thursday on a charge of vandalizing Hindu temple in District Karak while 31, including prime suspect Molvi Sharif of Jamiat Ulema e Islam-Fazl have been arrested after Chief Justice of Pakistan took notice of the incident.
Police have booked the local emir of JUI-F Rehmat Salam who was arrested earlier today from his residence.
On the other hand, the Hindu Trust officials claimed the police were being complicit to the vandalizing yesterday allowing mob a leeway to destroy the temple and runaway.
According to the police superintendent, the event transpired due to the restoration of the temple as the local clerics incited the mobs soon after they learned of the official permission of restoration.
It may be noted that police was directed into action after Chief Justice of Pakistan took notice of the vandalism at the shrine of a Hindu saint in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Karak district.Dr. Ramesh Kumar, MNA and Patron in Chief Pakistan Hindu Council, called on the chief justice at the Supreme Court’s Karachi registry and raised the issue of “desecration/burning of shrine of Hindu saint Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj” by a mob yesterday in Karak, according to a statement issued by the SC.
