New Delhi: Wahhabi fanatics in Pakistan have started protesting against the federal government’s move to support the construction of a grand Lord Krishna temple in Pakistan’s capital city Islamabad. If constructed, it will be the first temple to be built in Islamabad after Partition in 1947.
The foundation stone for the construction of the temple was laid recently, at the initiative of Lal Chand Malhi, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member of the National Assembly and Parliamentary Secretary on Human Rights. The temple, as per plan, is to be built on a 20,000 sq ft land in the H-9 sector of Islamabad. However, soon after the ground breaking ceremony, protests by fanatic elements started, following which construction work has been stopped by the local authorities.
The ground-breaking ceremony of the Krishna temple was held under the aegis of the Islamabad Hindu Panchayat. The plot for the temple was allotted to the Hindu Panchayat by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in 2017. However, construction work got delayed due to some technical reasons like the approval of the site map and documents from the CDA and other authorities.
Leading the front against the move is Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab (Pakistan), Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, who said that constructing the new temple in Islamabad was “against the spirit of Islam”. In a video message, he said it was also an insult to the “state of Madinah”. He is said to have support of the Wahhabi elements in Pakistan.
“Pakistan was made in the name of Islam and building another Hindu temple in the capital is against the soul of Islam. After the conquest of Mecca, Hazrat Muhammad along with Hazrat Ali broke 360 idols in Baitullah Sharif saying ‘truth has come and falsehood has vanished’,” Elahi added. An advocate in Islamabad High Court has also challenged the government’s decision to construct the temple.
Malhi could not be contracted for his comments despite repeated attempts. A text message sent to him also remained unanswered. However, in a tweet, he said: “CDA authorities have informed, work of boundary wall of Krishna temple site may be restored after Monday, after getting formal approval. Hindu Panchayat Islamabad will contact CDA on Monday.”
The ground-breaking ceremony for the temple was performed recently by Malhi. The temple complex will also have a cremation site, apart from the space for separate structures for other religious rites. It will be built with an estimated cost of Rs 10 crore, generated through donations and government funding. Prime Minister Imran Khan has promised a grant of Rs 10 crore for the purpose.
In an earlier tweet, Malhi had said: “Held a meeting with PM Imran Khan today. He directed minister religious affairs to immediately release funds for Krishna temple being built at Islamabad and present a bill on forced conversions in Parliament within two months.”
Media reports have quoted Malhi as saying that the Hindu population in Islamabad had reached around 3,000, which include government and private sector employees, members of the business community and a large number of doctors. He is also reported to have said that while the official formalities are underway, the initial groundwork, including levelling of the land and erecting the boundary wall, can continue.
It is to be noted that, last year, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government announced to reconstruct, renovate and reopen all temples and shrines across Pakistan to promote religious tourism.
Sources said, before Partition, people of different communities used to live in religious harmony in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. But after the Partition, a large number of Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India, leaving behind temples and gurudwaras, which were later destroyed or grabbed.
A survey by the All Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement says that out of the 428 Hindu temples in Pakistan, only about 20 survive today and remain neglected by the Evacuee Trust Property Board, which controls them, while the rest had been converted for other uses. It highlighted that 408 of the 428 temples at the time of Partition “were turned into toy stores, restaurants, government offices and schools after 1990”. There is a small, abandoned temple and gurudwara at the Saidpur village near Islamabad, where no religious ritual takes place.