Minority communities protest against destruction of Hindu temple in Pakistan's Karak

Members of the minority communities on Sunday held a protest outside the Peshawar Press Club against the demolition of Hindu temple in Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province demanding government to take action against the police officials for not taking measures to prevent the attack.

Minority communities were led by Hindu Rights Movement chairman Haroon Sarabdiyal, Qaumi Watan Party's minority wing leader Munir Akhtar, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl representative Farid Singh, Pakistan People Party representative Naseeb Chand and Christian community representative Pastor Shehzad Murad, Dawn reported.

The historical temple was set on fire by people due to the negligence of the local police. The protestors demanded that the povincial government take action against the district police officer, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), and the area Station House Officer (SHO), Dawn reported.

The protesters said the destruction of the historical shrine had caused serious unrest among the Hindu community and urged the government to ensure protection to the people and their worship places.

Meanwhile, the Teri police of Karak claimed to have arrested three more persons suspected of being involved in the burning of the Hindu shrine, taking the number of detained people to 48.

Citing officials, Dawn reported that SHO Rehmatullah Wazir arrested Maulana Mohammad Haleem, Maulana Matiullah and Maulana Imdadullah, while Maulana Sharif, has surrendered to the police. They had been shifted to an unknown location. Maulana Mirzaqeem, a prominent figure nominated in the shrine burning case, is still at large.

On December 30, a mob of over a hundred people led by local Muslim clerics had destroyed and set on fire a Hindu temple in the Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

A viral video clip on social media showed a violent mob destroying the walls and roof of the temple.

This act against the Hindu minority community has been widely condemned by human rights activists based in Pakistan and other parts of the world.

The mob incited by a local cleric was part of a rally orgsed by Jamiat Ulema-e Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), a Sunni Deobandi political party in Pakistan. In the rally, speakers delivered inflammatory speeches after which the mob stormed the temple, set it ablaze, and razed it to the ground.

( With inputs from ANI )