Senate panel for handing over historic minority worship places to ETPB

ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary minority caucus on Wednesday proposed handing over several historic places of worship of religious minorities in the capital to the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) for restoration and future use.

The sites include the 16th-century Rama Mandir, Gurdwara and Dharamshala in Saidpur Village.

The Parliamentary Caucus on Minorities, which met here with Senator Danesh Kumar in the chair, also decided to visit the sites to assess their condition and prospects for restoration.

The caucus directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to submit a comprehensive report on the dharamshala at Rawal Lake and brief the panel at its next meeting on land allocated for minority graveyards.

The panel warned Islamabad Police to implement the five per cent quota for minority recruits in the hiring of 1,588 personnel and directed it to include carried-forward vacancies in the recruitment process in accordance with Supreme Court directives.

The caucus expressed displeasure over the absence of Islamabad Inspector General of Police Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi from the meeting and issued a final warning to the police department over implementation of the quota.

The committee also reviewed the situation of informal settlements in the capital. MNA Naveed Amir told the meeting that around 100,000 minority voters lived in katchiabadis.

It urged the government and the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony to formulate a policy for providing suitable alternative housing to residents affected by relocation without causing them financial or emotional hardship.

CDA officials briefed the committee on 10 recognised and several unrecognisedkatchiabadis in Islamabad. The caucus directed the authority to prevent further illegal expansion of the settlements.

It also directed that no unauthorised religious structure be demolished without an alternative mechanism to safeguard the religious sentiments of the affected community.

The committee further ordered an internal inquiry into past cases in which displaced residents allegedly received compensation twice.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026