While Hindus across the world celebrated Sri Krishna Janmashtami on Monday, August 30, radical Islamists in Pakistan have vandalised a Hindu temple and broken the idol of Lord Krishna at Khipro in the Sanghar district of Sindh province of Pakistan.
The incident happened when locals were celebrating Janmashtami rituals at the temple.
Journalist Aditya Raj Kaul took to Twitter to share the pictures of the vandalised Krishna Idol. In one picture, the idol can be seen lying desecrated on a piece of red and white cloth. The hands and one leg of the idol have been broken, as can be seen in the picture. In the other three pictures shared by Kaul, a section of Hindu devotees can be seen carrying and attempting to secure the broken pieces of the Krishna idol together.
Islamist mob has yet again vandalized a Hindu temple and broken the idol of Lord Krishna during a religious function held to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna on #Janmashtami at Khipro in Sanghar district of Sindh province of Pakistan. State backed terror against minorities. pic.twitter.com/nRZEwXmXxo
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) August 30, 2021
He also shared a snippet where an elderly Hindu woman, who was an eyewitness to the crime, is heard categorically saying that some Islamists desecrated the Krishna idol.
Local Hindu woman who is also an eyewitness to the Islamist mob attacking a Hindu temple and breaking Lord Krishna statue gives details of the brutal act as the Pakistan Government turned the other way. Minority Hindu temples have been regularly attacked and gutted in Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/7Ga7cIYH88
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) August 30, 2021
In Pakistan, there has been an increase in attacks against religious minorities’ houses of worship in recent years. The international community has repeatedly chastised the country for failing to protect the interests of its minority. Despite this, the Imran Khan government has done little to address the situation.
Ganesh temple vandalised in Punjab province of Pakistan
Earlier in the month, a violent mob of Pakistani men had vandalized a Ganesh temple in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Parts of the temple were burnt down and idols were desecrated. The mob attacked the temple on August 4, at Bhong city of Rahim Yar Khan district. Taking cognizance of the matter, ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf parliamentarian Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani took to Twitter to post videos of the temple attack and urged the law enforcement agencies to stop the “burning and vandalizing” of the temple.
7 Hindu temples vandalized and destroyed by Islamists since 2020
OpIndia had on August 5 also reported about 7 such Hindu temples which were vandalized and destroyed by Islamists since 2020 in Pakistan. As per an India Today report, out of 365 Hindu temples in Pakistan, only 13 are being managed by the Evacuee Trust Property Board board, leaving the responsibility of 65 to the persecuted and impoverished Hindu community, abandoning the rest to the land mafias.
