Lambasting the Punjab police for their inability to protect the Hindu temple in Rahim Yar Khan, which was attacked by a mob two days ago, the Supreme Court on Friday ordered the temple’s restoration and the immediate arrest of the culprits.
According to Dawn, a Hindu temple in Bhong area of Rahim Yar Khan was attacked by hundreds of people on Wednesday. The mob vandalised the temple and blocked the Sukkur-Multan Motorway (M-5) after a nine-year-old Hindu boy — who allegedly urinated in a local seminary — was granted bail by a local court.
On Thursday, the apex court took suo motu notice of the incident after patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council Dr Ramesh Kumar called on Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed to draw his attention to the incident.
The CJP had summoned Punjab’s chief secretary and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Inam Ghani to appear before the court along with a report on the incident.
“The temple was attacked. What were the administration and the police doing?” the chief justice questioned during today’s hearing.
Ghani replied that the assistant commissioner and assistant superintendent of police were present at the scene. “The administration’s priority was to protect 70 Hindu homes around the temple,” Ghani said. He also told the court that terrorism clauses had been added in the first information report.
“If the commissioner, deputy commissioner and the DPO can’t perform, then they should be removed,” the chief justice remarked. He said the incident had damaged Pakistan’s reputation at an international level.
“The police did nothing except [for] watching the spectacle,” Justice Gulzar said.
Upon being told that no arrests were made in the case so far, Justice Qazi Amin said: “The police failed in fulfilling its responsibility.”
Justice Amin added that even if arrests were made, the police would release the suspects on bail and try to make the parties reconcile.
“Three days have passed [since the incident] and not one person has been arrested,” the chief justice noted, adding that the police lacked “enthusiasm”.
“The matter would have been resolved by now if there were professionals in the police force,” he said.
“[A] Hindu temple was demolished. Think [about] what they must have felt. Imagine what would have been the reaction of Muslims, had a mosque been demolished,” the chief justice remarked.
Additional Attorney General Sohail Mahmood informed the bench that Prime Minister Imran Khan had taken notice of the incident. The CJP said the premier should continue with his work but the court would look into the legal aspects of the case.
The court noted that the culprits at large could cause problems for the Hindu community as it sought assurances that such incidents do not happen again.
The court also expressed dissatisfaction at the Rahim Yar Khan commissioner’s performance and sought a progress report from the IGP and the chief secretary within a week.
It also instructed the formation of village committees for peace and religious harmony and adjourned the hearing till August 13.
Legislators Friday condemned the desecration of a Hindu temple by a mob in Rahim Yar Khan in strong words, calling on authorities to take action and arrest all culprits involved.
A frenzied mob attacked a Hindu temple in the city’s Bhong village a couple of days ago. Video clips of the incident went viral on social media, showing men armed with sticks vandalising the place of worship.
Prime Minister Imran Khan took notice of the incident while Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed took suo motu notice of the temple’s desecration and sought action against the culprits from authorities.
Separately, Pakistani lawmakers also denounced the attack during a session of the National Assembly, calling into question the police’s role in the incident.
“No arrests have been made yet neither did any government officials arrive at the place,” said PML-N MNA Khael Das Kohistani. “We want the interior minister and the prime minister to tell us why no has been arrested yet.”
PTI MNA Jai Prakash said the temple was desecrated due to the police’s negligence, adding that the incident had taken place three days ago and notice had been taken against it immediately.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan took immediate notice of the incident,” he added.
PTI MNA Shunila Ruth said after the Bhong temple incident took place, she spoke to the DPO Punjab and IG Punjab.
“This is a conspiracy, the PTI government stands with the Hindu minority,” she said, adding that the state does not support such extremist actions.
Another MNA, Lal Chand Malhi, said these incidents were “backed by a plan”, adding that the main objective of such episodes is to defame Pakistan.
“An FIR has been registered, I hope the culprits will be arrested as well,” he said.
PPP MNA Mahesh Kumar Malani urged legislators of other political parties, namely the PML-N, JUI-F and others to speak on the issue as well.
“Everyone in the assembly will speak about this incident,” responded Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri.
MYC refuses to condemn desecration of temple:
Meanwhile, the leaders of the Milli Yakjehti Council (MYC) refused to condemn the incident and said they were unaware of the details, according to Dawn.
During a media briefing in Islamabad following the elections for top positions in the Supreme Council of the MYC,, an alliance of 22 religious and political parties and organisations, when reporters asked about the position of the MYC on the temple attack, the newly elected president, Sahibzada Abul Khair Zubair, started talking about an incident in Hyderabad instead.
“There is a Muslim family living in front of a temple in Hyderabad. The area also housed some Hindu families and they filed a complaint to the authorities that sacrificing [a] cow in front of the temple should not be allowed,” Zubair said.
“The majority too has rights,” he added.
The MYC president further said that the rights of the religious minorities have been safeguarded under the Constitution and Sharia.
”We do not deny the rights given to the minority communities in Islamic laws and the laws of the country, but denying the rights to the majority community too was not fair,” he added.
The journalists questioned the top leaders of the mainstream religious parties in the country why they were failing to condemn the mob attack at the temple.
In response, the MYC president said that they cannot comment as they were not aware of the ground realities and details of the incident. Secretary General Liaquat Baloch added that the MYC will respond when the facts are available to them. “The minority community in the country has complete freedom,” he said.
Yes, the culprits should be found and punished but to reprimand the police is not the supreme courts job, is it?