Islamabad: Pakistan’s High Court on Tuesday ordered the Evacuee Property Trust Board to start rebuilding a century-old Hindu temple which was demolished by a mob in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province last week.
The court said that the country was suffering “embarrassment internationally” due to this attack. The Dawn newspaper reported that 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 hand over the details of all such temples and gurudwaras in Pakistan which are operational or closed.
Human rights groups and minority Hindu leaders have strongly condemned the attack on the temple on Wednesday by members of the fundamentalist Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party in Terry village in Kark district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. During the hearing on Tuesday, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed directed the EPTB to remove encroachments in temples across the country and take action against the officials involved in the encroachments.
