At the very least 14 apprehensions were made by Pakistani police in over night raids on Thursday after a century-old Hindu temple was set on fire and razed by a violent spiritual crowd led by Islamist clerics in northwestern Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region.
Thousands of people led by local Muslim clerics struck the temple while chanting slogans in the town of Teri, in Karak area as well as set it on fire, according to reports. Videos of the crowd attacking the holy place were extensively flowed in social media sites, motivating condemnation from human rights and minority teams.
The clerics had ensured the cops they would arrange a calm objection versus the claimed expansion of the holy place, Rahmatullah Wazir, a law enforcement officer, informed Reuters.
The report said the clerics leading the anxiety began “provocative speeches”, complying with which the crowd attacked the holy place.
The crowd likewise struck an under-construction house near to the temple which was apparently illegally occupied by a Hindu in a Muslim dominated location.
Individuals had actually introduced presentation a couple of days earlier, accusing the temple of unauthorized development as well as demanded elimination of it.
The mob raged that the regional Hindu area was allowed by authorities to refurbish the building.
The demolition of the decades-old temple resulted in rage in people of Hindu belief, causing protests with needs of justice.
Hindu, Christian, Sikh, as well as Ahmadiya minorities deal with mistreatment under strict blasphemy laws, which have led to a variety of high account instances in recent times.
The United States State Department declared Pakistan “a nation of certain issue” for infractions of spiritual freedoms earlier this month.
Human rights minister, Shireen Mazari, condemned the occurrence through tweets as well as required an investigation.
” Strongly condemn the burning of a Hindu temple by a crowd in Karak, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa. KP government must guarantee wrongdoers are brought to justice. We as a federal government have a duty to guarantee security and protection of all our citizens as well as their churches,” she stated.
This is the 2nd time the holy place was damaged by Muslims after 1997. The temple was built in 1919 before the partition of India as well as Pakistan. The holy place was refurbished in 2015 after Supreme Court’s order.
Numerous temples have actually been destroyed in Pakistan till now. In November, a Hindu holy place was ruined in Karachi after a Hindu kid was charged of making a blasphemous declaration.
In July, building and construction of the first Hindu holy place in Islamabad was halted after it was challenged in courts by Islamic lobbyists. Nevertheless, approval was provided by the state body recently.