Take money from maulvi, followers to rebuild temple: CJP

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) Tuesday ordered reconstruction of the shrine of Hindu saint Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj, damaged by a mob in Karak with the money recovered from the maulvi and his followers who attacked and burnt the temple.

The court also sought a comprehensive report on functional and non-functional temples and Gurdwaras throughout the country.

A three-member SC bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, heard a suo motu case about desecration/ burning of shrine of the Hindu saint in Karak some days back. On Dec 31, the CJ had taken suo motu notice of the incident and had directed the One Man Commission on Minorities Rights, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary and inspector general of police (IGP) to visit the site and submit the compliance report.

Dr Ramesh Kumar, MNA, and patron-in-chief Pakistan Hindu Council, called a meeting and discussed the issue.

On Tuesday, KP chief secretary, IGP Sanaullah Abbasi and Dr Shoaib Suddle appeared before the court. The court directed the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) to clear encroachments on the temple sites across the country and take action against officials involved in the encroachments. Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed observed that the Karak incident had caused “international embarrassment to Pakistan”.

Dr Shoaib Suddle complained to the court that the Provincial Evacuee Trust Property Board failed to protect the shrine.

Justice Ijazul Ahsen asked the IGP KP as to how the incident could have happened when there was a police check-post next to the shrine. Where were your intelligence agencies, asked the court from the IGP.

The provincial police chief admitted before the court that 92 officers including SP and DSP were present on duty, but they showed cowardice and negligence in performance of their duties. He said they all had been suspended and 109 people involved in the incident arrested. The IGP submitted that Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam had a gathering near the site of the shrine, sponsored by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, adding that out of six ulema, only Maulvi Sharif incited people to the incident.

The CJ observed that mere suspending the police personnel was not enough, as the incident had brought Pakistan into disrepute all over the world.

During the hearing, the KP chief secretary assured the court that the provincial government would rebuild the Hindu Samadhi.

The court was informed that the Samadhi located in Karak was run by the Hindu community itself, and the temple was not functional. That was why the staff of the abandoned Waqf property was not there, he added.

Justice Ijazul Ahsen asked as to how many people visit the temple every year, maybe there was a fair there.

Dr Ramesh Kumar said festivals also take place at the site. Three to four hundred Hindus visit the temple every month. In 1997, the same Maulvi Sharif had demolished the temple. He told the court that the abandoned Waqf property and the KP government had not built the temple despite the orders of the Supreme Court.

Justice Ijazul Ahsen said that Waqf properties had money to build their own buildings, but not for Hindus.

The CJ directed the KP chief secretary to recover money from those who set fire to the temple, especially from Maulvi Sharif for reconstruction of the temple.

“The government writ should be upheld,” the CJ remarked, adding that Maulvi Sharif had done all that and he would come out of jail on bail in a few days. At the outset of hearing, the court was informed that a new contingent of 100 police personnel had been deployed at the Samadhi. The court adjourned the hearing for date-in-office (an indefinite period).