A violent religious mob set fire to a Hindu temple in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region and attempted to destroy it.
Multitudes of thousands, allegedly led by Islamic clerics, stormed the Hindu temple in the village of Teri in the Karak district on Wednesday and started tearing bricks from the walls and setting it on fire.
No one was inside the temple at the time. The footage from the scene shows the crowd shouting slogans and applause hailing the destruction.
A Hindu temple was demolished by religious extremists in Karak today. It is a very shameful moment for us, because it reflects the way we treat minorities in our country.
You cannot run a federation unless and until minority rights are protected. Strongly reprehensible. pic.twitter.com/PJOKZA3a1l– Ihtesham Afghan (@IhteshamAfghan) December 30, 2020
The sanctuary, which was first erected in 1919 before the division divided India and Pakistan, had recently undergone a renovation following a Supreme Court order in 2015. This was the second time it was demolished, following an incident in 1997 , when it was destroyed by a group of Muslim fanatics.
Police and guards were posted outside amid security fears for the temple.
“It has been beautifully renovated and the community has enjoyed the work, but it has always remained under the threat of the extremists who destroyed it last time,” said a local resident who asked to remain anonymous. “I can’t say how much was destroyed, but people say it was badly damaged.”
Anger began to rise in the past few days after the construction of a small property next to the temple, which residents mistakenly believed was an unauthorized expansion of the sanctuary.
Speaking to Dawn newspaper, another local resident said: “More than 1,000 people led by some local elders from a religious party protested and demanded the removal of the Hindu site. Residents of nearby villages announced a protest demonstration a few days earlier, which was completely ignored by the police ”.
The police confirmed that permission was given for a peaceful protest, but that people “did justice with their own hands” after incendiary speeches angered the crowd.
Lal Chand Malhi, a politician from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, condemned the destruction as “an unfortunate incident”.
“The police assured me that they will arrest the perpetrators as soon as possible,” he said.
Human rights minister Shireen Mazari tweeted: “Strongly condemn the burning of a Hindu temple by a crowd in Karak, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa. The KP government must guarantee culprits [are] brought to justice. “
Mazari said the government will investigate the incident. “We, as a government, have a responsibility to ensure the safety and protection of all our citizens and their places of worship,” she said.
As an Islamic state, Pakistan is often hostile to its Hindu minority and Hindu places of worship have been increasingly vandalized or targets of violence. Earlier this year, a Hindu temple in Karachi was vandalized after accusations of blasphemy were brought to a local Hindu boy.
In July, Islamic activists blocked the construction of the first Hindu temple in Islamabad, contesting in the courts. However, last week, permission was granted by the state body, the Islamic Ideology Council, for the project to proceed.