Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Nearly two weeks after a century-old Hindu temple was demolished in Pakistan’s Punjab province, allegedly by members of the local Muslim community seeking to use the land for an adjacent madrassa, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has dismissed the allegations as “false and politically motivated”. The ministry reiterated earlier claims by local officials that the structure collapsed due to torrential rain, stating that it was damaged by heavy rainfall on July 21, nearly a month before its reported demolition.
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The temple in question, estimated to have been 100 to 125 years old, occupied around 1,000 square metres in Siraj village of Narowal district, which is about 130 km from Pakistan‘s second-largest city, Lahore. However, on August 21, the structure was pulled down, news agency PTI had reported on September 1 (Tuesday).
Members of the Pakistan Masiha Millat Party (PMMP), locals, and Hindu community representatives later alleged that members of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a banned far-right Islamic party, had been involved in the act, who had targeted the land for use in connection with a nearby seminary.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) subsequently released a statement on September 2 (Wednesday), calling the act, “a reprehensible act of vandalism against a century-old minority place of worship.” It described the lack of action taken by local authorities to protect the structure as “alarming”, and a “stark reminder of the continuing vulnerability of minority communities” in Pakistan. The MEA had then called on Islamabad to ensure that those responsible were held accountable and to restore the temple.
PAKISTAN HAS REJECTED REPORTS OF DESTRUCTION OF CENTURY OLD HINDU TEMPLE
In response, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released their own statement on X, rejecting all reports that the century-old temple was deliberately razed and labelled the MEA’s statement as a bunch of “false and politically motivated assertions”.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan repeated claims made by local Evacuee Trust Property Board (a federal agency entrusted with managing properties left behind by Hindus and Sikhs who left for India after the 1947 Partition) officials that the temple collapsed due to torrential rainfall.
“Unlike the false propaganda being peddled by India, the temple’s structure was damaged on July 21 due to torrential rains”, Khan claimed.
However, the temple was reportedly demolished on August 21, a month after the date cited by Khan for the alleged rain damage.
Khan also claimed that Pakistani authorities had already started work on restoring the Hindu temple, stating that, “The local authorities have already surveyed the rain damage and initiated steps for the restoration of the building.”
“It is, therefore, shameful that India is distorting facts and resorting to cheap gimmicks,” he added.
While Pakistan has rejected reports of deliberate destruction and maintained that the structure was damaged by torrential rain, local residents and Hindu community representatives have alleged that members of the TLP were involved and had sought to use the land for a nearby seminary.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
