The minority Hindu minority community in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region in Pakistan has reportedly decided to forgive the hundreds of radical Islamists who had razed down and destroyed the Krishna Dwara temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Karak district on December 30, 2020.
The Krishna Dwara temple, which is situated in Karak’s Teri union council, had come under attack by hundreds of residents who set fire to the building, then razed it down with hammers and crude weapons on December 30, last year.
Since the incident, tension brewed between the members of the persecuted Hindu community and the Muslims in the province. In order to resolve this dispute, the members of the Hindu community held a meeting on Saturday with some Muslim clerics and local leaders. In an out-of-court settlement, the former has now agreed to ‘pardon’ the mob accused of vandalising the temple revered by the Hindus in Pakistan. In return, the Muslim clerics reportedly promised to protect the constitutional rights of the Hindu community and provide full protection from any such untoward incident in the future.
Reportedly, the accused have also tendered an apology to the Hindus over the attack for a similar incident in 1997.
Following the reconciliation meeting on March 13 (Saturday), both sides agreed to send a letter to the Supreme Court of Pakistan, requesting it to release all the accused arrested so far in the case. According to reports, nearly 50 people had been arrested in the case.
The reconciliation meeting was chaired by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM Mahmood Khan. Pakistan Hindu Council member Ramesh Kumar, who is also a member of the ruling PTI, stated that the incident had hurt Hindus all over the world.
Islamists razed down Hindu temple in Pakistan
In what transpired on December 30, 2020, several Islamists had attacked and burned down the Krishna Dwara temple, situated in Karak’s Teri union council. The fanatics, led by a local cleric and supporters of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party (Fazal ur Rehman group) set fire to the building, then razed it down with hammers and crude weapons. The video which went viral on social media showed how the miscreants surrounded and vandalised the temple for hours.
Notably, the temple was demolished allegedly in the presence of district administration officials.
Reportedly, the temple was built after Guru Shri Paramhans Dayal was laid to rest at the site in July 1919. However, the Muslim residents of the area had closed the temple after the Partition in 1947. In 2015, the Krishna Dwara temple was restored on the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, only to be razed down again by radical Islamists.
India lodged a strong protest against the malicious act
The unfortunate act against the Hindu minority community was widely condemned by human rights activists based in Pakistan and other parts of the world. India had also strongly protested the wanton and malicious destruction of the Hindu temple by several Islamic fanatics. Concerns were conveyed to Pakistan through diplomatic channels.
India had also called out the Pakistan government at the United Nations, saying the country’s enforcement agencies stood as “mute spectators” when a historic Hindu temple was attacked
