Khan’s remark comes as India today summoned Pakistan charge d’affaires and lodged a strong protest on the attack on the temple located in Bhong city of Rahim Yar Khan district….reports Asian Lite News
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday condemned the attack on a Hindu temple in the country’s Punjab province and assured that action will be taken against the culprits.
“Strongly condemn attack on Ganesh Mandir in Bhung, RYK yesterday. I have already asked IG Punjab to ensure the arrest of all culprits and take action against any police negligence. The government will also restore the Mandir,” Pakistan PM tweeted.
Khan’s remark comes as India today summoned Pakistan charge d’affaires and lodged a strong protest on the attack on the temple located in Bhong city of Rahim Yar Khan district.
In widely circulated video clips on social media, attackers were seen carrying sticks, stones, and bricks with which they damaged idols in the temple while raising religious slogans.
Earlier on Thursday, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that Pakistani charge d’affaires was summoned and a firm protest was lodged “expressing our grave concerns at this reprehensible incident and the continued attacks on the freedom of religion of the minority community and their places of religious worship”.
India called upon Pakistan to ensure the safety, security and well-being of its minority communities.
“We have seen disturbing reports on social media of a violent mob attack on a Ganesha temple in Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab province of Pakistan. The mob attacked the temple, desecrated the holy idols and set fire to the premises. In addition to attacking the temple, the mob has also attacked surrounding houses belonging to the Hindu community,” he said.
Bagchi said incidents of violence, discrimination and persecution against the minority communities including attacks on places of worship have continued unabated in Pakistan.
“Within the last year itself, various temples and Gurudwaras have been attacked including the Mata Rani Bhatiyani Mandir in Sindh in January 2020, Gurudwara Sri Janam Sthan in January 2020, a Hindu temple in Karak in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in December 2020,” he said.
The spokesperson added that these incidents are occurring at an alarming rate and the Pakistan government have stood by idly and completely failed in preventing these attacks.
Meanwhile, the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha condemned the incident and said that such incidents proved that the Imran Khan-led government was actively promoting terrorism by discriminating against Hindus and other minorities and destroying their religious places.
The organisation has also called for a boycott of the Pakistan High Commission in India and also for a social and economic boycott of Pakistan.
The National President of Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha Swami Chakrapani Maharaj said that discrimination against the Hindus minorities started just after Partition as Islamic fundamentalists want to eliminate the entire Hindu population from Pakistan and wipe out the existence of Sanatan Dharma while on the contrary in India, the population of minority Muslims have flourished
The Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha leader also said that in Pakistan “sisters and daughters of Hindus are being kidnapped openly, temples are demolished, ashrams have been demolished in the past.”
“We have written many letters to the United Nations but it is sad that the United Nations is silent over these issues of atrocities against Hindus in Pakistan,” said Chakrapani.
Chakrapani while speaking to ANI further said that countries around the world should unite against Pakistan and boycott it socially and economically as the Pakistan government is supporting terrorist organizations like Jaish-e-Mohammad, ISIS, Taliban and others. The countries should raise their voices against the persecution of minorities including Hindus and Christians in Pakistan, Chakrapani said.
A recent report by a minorities’ rights commission in Pakistan has revealed a “dismal” picture of the most revered Hindu sites in the country. The report submitted to the country’s Supreme Court in April presents a “general picture of decay and obliteration” of two of the four most revered evacuee sites in Pakistan, Dawn reported.
The 2020 report International Religious Freedom released by the United States earlier this year highlighted a downward spiral of religious expression in Pakistan, most notably in the form of blasphemy laws, punishment for which ranges up to the death penalty. (ANI)
