A century-old Hindu temple in Pakistan's Punjab province was demolished, sparking accusations of being razed for madrassa expansion and calls for a government probe. While authorities attribute the destruction to heavy rains, minority rights advocates and community leaders dispute this, pointing to alleged negligence by local bodies and the Evacuee Trust Property Board. Concerns are mounting over the protection of religious minority sites and heritage in Pakistan, with demands for reconstruction and accountability for those involved in the temple's alleged demolition.

A century-old Hindu temple in Pakistan's Punjab province was demolished, sparking accusations of being razed for madrassa expansion and calls for a government probe. While authorities attribute the destruction to heavy rains, minority rights advocates and community leaders dispute this, pointing to alleged negligence by local bodies and the Evacuee Trust Property Board. Concerns are mounting over the protection of religious minority sites and heritage in Pakistan, with demands for reconstruction and accountability for those involved in the temple's alleged demolition.

A century-old Hindu temple in Pakistan's Punjab province was demolished, sparking accusations of being razed for madrassa expansion and calls for a government probe. While authorities attribute the destruction to heavy rains, minority rights advocates and community leaders dispute this, pointing to alleged negligence by local bodies and the Evacuee Trust Property Board. Concerns are mounting over the protection of religious minority sites and heritage in Pakistan, with demands for reconstruction and accountability for those involved in the temple's alleged demolition.

A Hindu temple, over 100 years old, in Pakistan's Punjab province was demolished on August 21 in Siraj village of Narowal. The Rights advocates in Pakistan have called for a probe into the demolition as they allege that the temple was razed so that the land could be used for the expansion of an adjacent madrassa. 

The minority groups have asked the Shehbaz Sharif government in Islamabad to reconstruct the temple and remove the alleged encroachments from its land. 

Meanwhile, the government said that the temple collapsed due to torrential rains. 

The Pakistan Masiha Millat Party (PMMP) accused the local authorities and the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) of failing to protect the centuries-old Hindu place of worship. 

Aslam Parvez Sahotra, PMMP chairman, said that he met the Punjab Additional Home Secretary on August 28 and submitted a written application seeking action against the alleged demolition. 

He also alleged that the people involved in the demolition were associated with the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a banned far-right Islamic party. "The metal fittings from its shikhar, bricks and other materials were removed from the site after the demolition," Sahotra alleged. 

The temple stood on approximately 1,000 square metres of land in Siraj village. 

Sahotra said that the land adjoining the temple had earlier been leased by the ETPB for a madrassa. The lease was subsequently cancelled after rent allegedly went unpaid for several years and the premises were not used for the state's purpose. 

Sahotra referred to a revenue department report which identified illegal occupants of the temple's quarters and other parts of the property. He said the ETPB deputy administrator in Sialkot cancelled the seminary's lease rights on January 29, and ordered the eviction of illegal occupants and sealing of the property. 

"This order was not implemented," Sahotra alleged. 

The ETPB, however, rejected the allegation that the temple was deliberately demolished. 

Hindu community leader Rattan Lal condemned the demolition and called for the government to order the temple's restoration. 

"The district administration and the ETPB failed to take adequate measures to protect the site or remove the alleged occupants, ultimately allowing the temple to be demolished," Lal said. 

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