A century-old Hindu temple was vandalised in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi by some assailants.
In the attack, which occurred on Saturday night, vandals damaged the temple’s door and stairs. According to local police official Mohammad Toseef Sajjad, the temple had not yet reopened for Hindu community worship and was still undergoing renovation.
The renovation had been put on hold for the Hindu festival of Holi, during which Hindus throw coloured powder and spray water on each other to celebrate the arrival of spring. The temple had been abandoned until the renovations began. Nearby shop owners had encroached on a large portion of the land on which the temple was built. There were no additional details. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
In general, Muslims and Hindus coexist peacefully in Pakistan, but there have been attacks on Hindu temples in recent years. When Britain’s government partitioned India in 1947, the majority of Pakistan’s minority Hindus migrated to India. Meanwhile, Om Prakash, the temple’s administrator, confirmed the incident and stated that as soon as the information was received, Rawalpindi police personnel arrived on the scene and brought the situation under control.
Prakash stated that police had been stationed both at his home and at the temple for security. He did, however, state that no Holi celebrations will take place at the temple.
Hindus are Pakistan’s largest minority group. Official estimates place the number of Hindus in Pakistan at 75 lakh.
Minority attacks are common in Pakistan. In December of last year, a mob attacked and damaged a revered Hindu shrine in the Karak district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
