New Zealand vlogger Karl Rock, who was blacklisted by the Indian authorities for violation of multiple visa norms on multiple counts, has posted a series of videos on Pakistan and the Hindu temples situated in the Islamic Republic in an attempt to play down the atrocities against the Hindus in the country.
In a series of three videos, the New Zealand-based controversial vlogger attempted to depict Pakistan as a ‘safe haven’ for Hindus by visiting a few Hindu temples in Pakistan to show how the Islamic country is ‘preserving’ the culture of Hindus.
In his first video published a week ago, Karl Rock visited a Hindu temple on the outskirts of Mirpur city in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The Youtuber travels inside the Ramkot Fort situated on the huge Mangla Dam to unearth the Hindu temple that was ravaged by the Muslim rulers of Kashmir.
The remains of the Shivling hidden inside the fort overseeing the Mangala Dam was shown by Karl Rock in his video.
However, he fails to explain why did Muslim invaders destroy the Hindu temple present at the spot to raise a fort on top of it.
In his second video, published a few days ago, he visited another temple in the old city of Mirpur, the city which is submerged following the construction of Mangala Dam on the Jhelum river. The ancient Hindu temple, offshore the Mangala Dam, can be seen ravaged due to its sinking under the Jhelum river. In the video, Rock said it is not just the temple alone, but a mosque and a gurudwara are submerged after the Pakistan government decided to construct a dam on the banks of Mirpur.
In the following video released on Thursday, Karl Rock travelled to Sialkot to have a glimpse of the Shiva temple. He then casually tells the history of the temple that was built by Sardar Teja Singh and how the temple was sealed in 1947 following the partition.
Interestingly, Rock also highlights that miscreants partially demolished the temple in 1992 following the Babri Masjid demolition in Pakistan. More than 30 temples across Pakistan were attacked by Islamists in 1992 as a reaction to the demolition of the Babri Masjid in India. However, Karl Rock glosses over the atrocities committed by the Islamists against the Hindus in Pakistan by simply saying the act was ‘wrong’.
Karl Rock whitewashes atrocities against Hindus, glorifies Pakistan
However, he does not stop there. Karl Rock goes on to continue to peddle pro-Pakistan propaganda by claiming that Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a goodwill gesture to Hindus, had reopened the temple to Hindus after 72 years.
“In 2019, the Pakistan government renovated and formally handed over the centuries-old Shivala Teja Singh Temple to the Pakistan Hindu Council for facilitating pilgrim visits and other rituals,” the Youtuber said in an attempt to romanticise how ‘secular’ and tolerant’ Pakistan was in terms of treating its minorities.
Shockingly, Karl Rock has released his pro-Pakistan propaganda videos to glorify Pakistan just a day after Islamists had vandalised and burnt down a Ganesha temple in Pakistan’s Punjab province. The mob had attacked the temple on Wednesday at Bhong city of Rahim Yar Khan district. This is just one attack in the ongoing series of attacks against Hindus by Islamists in Pakistan.
Attack on Hindu temple at Bhong City District Rahimyar Khan Punjab. Situation was tense since yesterday. Negligence by local police is very shameful. Chief Justice is requested to take action. pic.twitter.com/5XDQo8VwgI
— Dr. Ramesh Vankwani (@RVankwani) August 4, 2021
The video of the incident had stoked massive outrage on the internet, with several Hindus worldwide condemning Pakistan for its continued atrocities against Hindus. Yet, strangely, just a day after the brutal incident, Karl Rock uploads his videos to show Pakistan in a good light and misinform people that everything was well for Hindus in Pakistan.
Karl Rock, who is a frequent visitor and often an influencer working to push the pro-Pakistan narrative on social media platforms, seems to have uploaded his videos on Hindu temples in Pakistan to create a narrative that Hindus are safe in the Islamic country and to peddle propaganda in favour of Pakistani establishment that they were treating the minorities well.
It is not the first time that Karl Rock has been pushing such a pro-Pakistan agenda through his videos on Youtube. He has posted several videos in the past from Pakistan, which may be one of the reasons why the Indian government took an extreme step to blacklist his visa.
Karl Rock and his love for Pakistan
For several months, Karl Rock has stayed in Pakistan, a country he had claimed to have left abruptly just three years ago because the ISI was watching him, suspecting him of being a spy. In recent months, he has posted several videos on his YouTube channel chronicling his visit to various places in Pakistan.
Karl Rock had even visited Pakistan occupied Kashmir. In January and February this year, he had posted several videos showing his visit to the ‘other side of Kashmir’. While he is a traveller and he has the right to pursue his interest, his visit to PoK had raised eyebrows in the Indian security establishment.
As Karl Rock repeatedly violated his Visa norms in India, the Indian government blacklisted him from entering India over multiple Visa violations in July this year.
