Peshawar: of Pakistan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa The government on Tuesday said criminal cases against 350 people accused of burning a temple last year will be withdrawn, claiming that the minority Hindu community has forgiven them.
According to sources in the province’s interior department, members of the Hindu community decided to pardon the accused in a jirga set up by the government to resolve the matter. Jirga is a traditional assembly of elders to take decisions unanimously.
He said that the government had formed the jirga which amicably resolved all the issues causing unrest between the local Muslim and Hindu communities in the region.
Hindus, however, said that despite the government’s assurances, the construction of a rest area next to the temple was being unnecessarily delayed, creating unrest among the minority community.
Haroon Sarab Diyal, a religious scholar Hindu religion-minority and human rights activist from the province, said: “We are not against peace and inter-religious harmony, but the way of withdrawing cases is absolutely against the clay jirga culture”.
He complained that the local Hindu community has not been taken into confidence except a member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. National Assembly and chairman of Pakistan Hindu Parishad Dr Ramesh K Vankwani.
Sources said the province’s interior department had also written an official letter to the anti-terrorism court informing about the jirga’s decision.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had last year named 350 accused in an FIR for their alleged involvement in setting fire to the tomb of Prem Hans and a temple in Teri Karak district.
109 people involved in the attack were arrested, while 92 police officers, including the Superintendent of Police and the Deputy Superintendent of Police, who were on duty at the time, were suspended.
Supreme court took suo motu cognizance of the matter and directed the provincial government to rebuild the mausoleum and the temple.
Members of the local Hindu community in Teri Karak district said that a house adjacent to the temple was bought by Hindus to take rest for the devotees coming from far flung areas.
The move sent a wrong message to the local community, who feared that Hindus wanted to live there. Therefore, the local mob first set the house under construction on fire and then attacked the adjacent temple and burnt the mausoleum.
The Samadhi of Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj is considered sacred by the Hindu community. It was built where he died in 1919 in Teri village of Karak.
Hindus are the largest minority community in Pakistan.
According to official estimates, there are 7.5 million Hindus living in Pakistan. However, community wise, there are over 90 lakh Hindus living in the country.
Majority of the Hindu population of Pakistan is settled in settled Sindh Provinces where they share culture, traditions and language with Muslim residents. They often complain of harassment by extremists.
According to sources in the province’s interior department, members of the Hindu community decided to pardon the accused in a jirga set up by the government to resolve the matter. Jirga is a traditional assembly of elders to take decisions unanimously.
He said that the government had formed the jirga which amicably resolved all the issues causing unrest between the local Muslim and Hindu communities in the region.
Hindus, however, said that despite the government’s assurances, the construction of a rest area next to the temple was being unnecessarily delayed, creating unrest among the minority community.
Haroon Sarab Diyal, a religious scholar Hindu religion-minority and human rights activist from the province, said: “We are not against peace and inter-religious harmony, but the way of withdrawing cases is absolutely against the clay jirga culture”.
He complained that the local Hindu community has not been taken into confidence except a member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. National Assembly and chairman of Pakistan Hindu Parishad Dr Ramesh K Vankwani.
Sources said the province’s interior department had also written an official letter to the anti-terrorism court informing about the jirga’s decision.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had last year named 350 accused in an FIR for their alleged involvement in setting fire to the tomb of Prem Hans and a temple in Teri Karak district.
109 people involved in the attack were arrested, while 92 police officers, including the Superintendent of Police and the Deputy Superintendent of Police, who were on duty at the time, were suspended.
Supreme court took suo motu cognizance of the matter and directed the provincial government to rebuild the mausoleum and the temple.
Members of the local Hindu community in Teri Karak district said that a house adjacent to the temple was bought by Hindus to take rest for the devotees coming from far flung areas.
The move sent a wrong message to the local community, who feared that Hindus wanted to live there. Therefore, the local mob first set the house under construction on fire and then attacked the adjacent temple and burnt the mausoleum.
The Samadhi of Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj is considered sacred by the Hindu community. It was built where he died in 1919 in Teri village of Karak.
Hindus are the largest minority community in Pakistan.
According to official estimates, there are 7.5 million Hindus living in Pakistan. However, community wise, there are over 90 lakh Hindus living in the country.
Majority of the Hindu population of Pakistan is settled in settled Sindh Provinces where they share culture, traditions and language with Muslim residents. They often complain of harassment by extremists.
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