Islamabad: An umbrella group of Muslim organisations in Pakistan has extended its support to the construction of the first Hindu temple in Islamabad and denounced the controversy over the issue, according to a media report on Saturday.
The Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC), whose members include Islamic clerics and legal scholars of different Islamic traditions, also said the Constitution of Pakistan categorically defines the rights of Muslims and non-Muslims living in the country, Dawn newspaper reported.
“We denounce the controversy over the construction of the temple. This [making it controversial] by extremist clerics is not correct. The PUC will call a meeting and will also present its point of view to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII),” PUC chairman Hafiz Mohammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi said on Friday.
The CII is a constitutional body responsible for giving legal advice on Islamic issues to the Pakistan government.
Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry has written to the CII to seek its opinion on the government’s funding for the construction of the temple in the capital city amid opposition from some Muslim groups.
