SC directs KP govt to rebuild Hindu temple within stipulated time

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government to complete reconstruction of Hindu Samaadhi/Mandir in Karak district within the stipulated time.

A mob on December 30, 2020, burnt the shrine of Hindu saint Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj in Karak, KP.

The Samaadhi (shrine) is considered sacred by the Hindu community. The Hindu devotees, especially from Sindh, used to visit it.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, heard the suo motu on burning of the Hindu temple in Karak.

The KP chief secretary has been directed to make sure that there should be no delay in the temple construction, and it be completed in six months.

The court has also debarred the local Hindu community to intervene in construction work.

The Additional Advocate General (AAG) KP informed that the contractor was about to resume construction but Hindu leader Ramesh Kumar restrained the contractor.

Kumar said that the contractor did not have the capacity and experience of constructing a temple. He said the KP government had approved Rs30 million for the reconstruction of the temple, but the contractor did not have money to start work.

Justice Ijazul Ahsan noted that the reconstruction of temple would start from April 5, and had to be completed within six months and not in days.

The chief justice said it was the responsibility of the State to reconstruct the samaadhi/temple. He inquired from the AG KP why the contract was given to a person who had no funds, adding, whether someone like to make money in this case.

The CJP said the concerned department of the KP provincial government was silent on it.

The Supreme Court in January 2021 had directed the Evacuee Property Trust Board (EPTB) to reconstruct Samaadhi/Mandir in Karak, and remove the encroachment from temples across the country, and take action against officials involved in the encroachments.

The case was adjourned sine die.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021