Pakistani top court orders rebuilding of destroyed Hindu temple

Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ordered the rebuilding of a Hindu temple that was badly damaged by an angry mob near the northwestern town of Karak last week.

During a hearing in the capital Islamabad on Tuesday, Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed ordered that the Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj Samadhi temple be rebuilt by the government and that expenses be charged to a local Muslim leader who was allegedly responsible for the mob violence that led to the damage.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ordered the rebuilding of a Hindu temple that was badly damaged by an angry mob near the northwestern town of Karak last week.

During a hearing in the capital Islamabad on Tuesday, Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed ordered that the Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj Samadhi temple be rebuilt by the government and that expenses be charged to a local Muslim leader who was allegedly responsible for the mob violence that led to the damage.Violence against the community often centres around the country’s strict, and heavily emotive, blasphemy laws, and attacks on temples while not common, have been increasing in frequency in recent years.

Last year, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) renewed its designation of Pakistan as a Country of Particular Concern, citing, among other reasons, “severely restricted freedom of religion or belief”.

Following the attack in Karak district, police arrested more than 100 suspects believed to have been part of the mob that attacked the temple and suspended many police personnel for alleged dereliction of duty for not stopping the attack.

Hearings in the case at the Supreme Court continue, with the next date of proceedings set for January 19.

Earlier, before the Supreme Court orders, the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the temple is located, had announced that it would use provincial funds to rebuild the temple, according to the provincial information minister.