Pakistan regional gov’t to fund construction of destroyed ...

Dozens of people arrested, together with a native Islamic chief, after a Muslim mob destroyed a temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

A Hindu temple in the northwest Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that changed into destroyed by a Muslim mob past this week can be rebuilt the use of provincial govt money, its information minister referred to on Friday.

Police have arrested dozens of americans, together with the local Muslim leader, for their involvement in Wednesday's attack on the Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj Samadhi temple within the city of Karak, some 100km (62 miles) southeast of the provincial capital, Peshawar.

"We feel sorry about the harm led to by the assault," stated Kamran Bangash, the provincial counsel minister belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) birthday party of best Minister Imran Khan.

"the executive minister has ordered the reconstruction of the temple and adjoining residence," he instructed AFP news company.

About 1,500 individuals descended on the temple within the faraway village after protesting against renovations being made to an adjoining building owned by way of a Hindu group. They used sledgehammers to knock down walls earlier than surroundings the building ablaze.

building will start as quickly as feasible with the aid of the Hindu community, Bangash mentioned, including safety would be offered at the site.

45 americans arrested

District police chief Irfanullah Khan advised AFP about forty five individuals had been arrested in connection with the incident – together with a local Muslim leader, mullah Sharif, who's accused of inciting the mob.

Khan introduced police are also looking for mullah Mirza Aqeem, the district leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), one in every of Pakistan's largest Islamic events.

individuals of Pakistan Hindu Council stand in the back of a banner right through a protest against a mob assault on the temple [Rizwan Tabassum/AFP] On Thursday, Pakistan's Supreme courtroom ordered authorities to submit a report on the temple's destruction, which drew condemnation from human rights activists and the minority Hindu community.

In Karachi, the capital of Sindh province and the place lots of the country's Hindus reside, greater than 200 people protested outdoor the Supreme court, calling for justice.

"You must respect different people's faith. we are Pakistanis, and for God's sake, nobody needs to provide us a certificates of loyalty", pointed out Mangla Sharma, a Hindu member of Sindh's provincial meeting.

The temple, which was destroyed in equivalent circumstances in 1997, turned into rebuilt beneath the direction of the exact court docket in 2015.

religious freedom violations

whereas no Hindus live in the area, devotees often seek advice from the temple and its shrine to pay homage to the Hindu saint Shri Paramhans, who died there earlier than the 1947 partition of India that gave birth to Pakistan.

besides the fact that children Muslims and Hindus generally live peacefully collectively in Pakistan, there were other assaults on Hindu temples in recent years.[Rizwan Tabassum/AFP] despite the fact Muslims and Hindus generally live peacefully together in Pakistan, there were different assaults on Hindu temples in fresh years.

final yr, the us placed Pakistan on a listing of "countries of certain concern" for spiritual freedom violations.

The country's minister for spiritual affairs, Noorul Haq Qadri, known as the attack "a conspiracy in opposition t sectarian concord".

He took to Twitter on Thursday, saying attacks on places of worship of minority religious corporations were forbidden in Islam and "insurance plan of religious freedom of minorities is our non secular, constitutional, ethical and national accountability".

On Wednesday, Pakistan's human rights minister, Shireen Mazari, talked about the executive had a accountability to "make sure defense and safety of all our citizens and their places of worship".

major Minister Khan has guaranteed Pakistan's minorities of their defense.

"I are looking to warn our individuals that anybody in Pakistan targeting our non-Muslim citizens or their locations of worship might be dealt with strictly. Our minorities are equal citizens of this nation," Khan tweeted in February.