Shrine in Karak

In a welcome move, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has directed the authorities to rebuild the Hindu shrine in Karak that was burned and desecrated by a mob a couple of months ago. The chief justice of Pakistan issued these orders after hearing a suo-motu case about the rights of smaller religious groups living in Pakistan. The case also involved the Karak shrine incident. It is a pity that the authorities responsible for protecting places of worship show negligence in their duties, forcing the top court to take suo-motu actions. When the shrine was burnt down, the local authorities and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government proved themselves to be incompetent and incapable of protecting fundamental rights of all citizens, including the right to worship in a safe and sound atmosphere and without any fear and intimidation. The Evacuee Trust Property Board has not been able to make any recoveries of what had been looted from the shrine. Though the government has approved Rs34 million for rebuilding the shrine, the trust lost in the system will not be recovered. The financial loss incurred must be recovered from those who torched the shrine.

It rarely happens in Pakistan that culprits in this nature of crime are charged and punished. In the absence of proper prosecution, the courts also feel helpless and there remains no potent deterrent for such incidents to recur in the future. To the displeasure of the court, the advocate general of the KP government has been unable to give any timeline to the court for the reconstruction of the shrine. It is a good sign that the courts in Pakistan are issuing such orders so that places of worship are protected from vandalism.

The Auqaf department and the KP government must initiate the reconstruction without delay. It is an unfortunate reality in Pakistan that many places of worship become victims of encroachment on their land. When in 2014 the then chief justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani issued a landmark decision to establish a commission on the rights of minorities, we hoped that the problems other religious groups are facing in Pakistan would be assuaged. But the commission chairman has submitted a report to the SC complaining that he feels helpless in the execution of his responsibilities as the authorities do not respond to his directives. This appears to be a most egregious travesty of the fundamental rights of religious minorities in the country. Take for example the plea by the KP government that the Hindu community should reconstruct the shrine and the government will reimburse the cost. The KP government should do better by immediately releasing the money allocated and facilitating the reconstruction.