Members of the minority communities held a protest outside the Peshawar Press Club against the demolition of a Hindu temple in the Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province demanding action against the police officials, for failing to prevent the attack.
|| Rhythima Agrawal
Hindu Rights Movement chairperson Haroon Sarabdiyal, Qaumi Watan Party’s minority wing leader Munir Akhtar, Pakistan People Party representative Naseeb Chand and Christian community representative Pastor Shehzad Murad led the minority community, Dawn reported. The protestors demanded that action should be taken against the district police officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police and area Station House Officer (SHO).
The protestors were of the view that the destruction of the historical shrine had led to unrest among the Hindu community. They urged the government to ensure protection to the minorities and their place of worship. The Teri police of Karak district claimed to have arrested three more persons suspected of being involved in the burning of Hindu shrine, taking the count of detained people to 48.
Jamiat Ulema-e Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), a Sunni Deobandi political party in Pakistan organized a rally where speakers delivered fiery speeches after which the charged crowd stormed the temple, set it ablaze and razed it to the ground. Footage posted to social media showed thick smoke billowing from the site as men used hammers to damage the structure’s walls.
This act against the minor community has been condemned by human rights based in Pakistan and other parts of the world.
