Hindu Temple Attacked With Rocket Launchers In Pakistan's Sindh: Police

The incident began after the Mari Mata Temple in Karachi's Soldier Bazar was bulldozed to the ground in the presence of a large police force late Friday night.

Representational Image.

A Hindu temple was assaulted with rocket launchers by a gang of dacoits in Pakistan's Southern Sindh region on Sunday, the second such incidence of destruction of a minority community's place of worship in less than two days. In the Kashmore district of Sindh province, attackers assaulted a tiny temple erected by the local Hindu community and nearby residences belonging to members of the minority population, news agency PTI reported.

The incident began after the Mari Mata Temple in Karachi's Soldier Bazar was bulldozed to the ground in the presence of a large police force late Friday night.

The temple, thought to be about 150 years old, was demolished after being labelled an ancient and unsafe edifice in Karachi, Sindh province's provincial capital.

On Sunday, gunmen shot indiscriminately at the shrine, leading a police team commanded by Kashmore-Kandhkot SSP Irfan Sammo to respond.

They used "rocket launchers" at the temple, which was shuttered throughout the incident, according to the police officer, who added that the temple is open annually for religious ceremonies held by the Bagri community.

“The attack happened in the early hours of Sunday. They fired indiscriminately and fled when a police party reached the spot. We are conducting a search operation in the area,” Samoo was quoted by PTI in its report. 

According to the officer, the attack was carried out by eight or nine shooters. Dr Suresh, a member of the Bagri community, stated that the dacoits' "rocket launchers" did not burst, resulting in no casualties.

He urged the police to safeguard the neighbourhood, claiming that the event had caused citizens to panic.

SSP Samoo promised Hindu community members that they would be safe.  There is a sizable Hindu community in the Kashmore region.

Following Seema Haider Jakhrani's PUBG love tale, dacoits in the Kashmore and Ghotki riverine districts vowed to target Hindu sites of worship and community people.

Seema, a Pakistani mother of four, fled to India in 2019 to live with a Hindu guy she met and fell in love with while playing the online gaming platform PUBG.

According to Uttar Pradesh Police, Seema, 30, and Sachin Meena, 22, live in the Rabupura district of Greater Noida, near Delhi, where he owns a supply shop.

While Seema was detained on July 4 for unlawfully entering India without a visa via Nepal with her four children, all of whom were under the age of seven, Sachin was arrested for harbouring the illegal immigrants. They were just freed from prison.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed concern about “deteriorating law and order in the districts of Kashmore and Ghotki in Sindh, where some 30 members of the Hindu community — including women and children — have allegedly been held hostage by organised criminal gangs," PTI reported. 

“Moreover, we have received disturbing reports that these gangs have threatened to attack the community’s sites of worship, using high-grade weapons,” the Dawn newspaper quoted the commission as saying.

According to the report, it requested that the Sindh Home Department examine the case as soon as possible.

Many historic Hindu temples may be seen in Karachi. Hindus are Pakistan's largest minority group.

The bulk of Pakistan's Hindus live in Sindh province, where they share culture, customs, and language with Muslims.