'International Embarrassment': Pak Supreme Court Orders Restoration Of Vandalised Temple In Two Weeks

The Hindu temple in Teri village of Karak district was vandalized and was set ablaze by hundreds of people on December 30.

A policeman stands guard at the burnt Hindu temple a day after a mob attack in a remote village in Karak district, some 160 kms southeast of Peshawar on December 31, 2020. - Hundreds of Muslims attacked and set fire to a Hindu temple in northwest Pakistan on December 30, police and witnesses said. (Photo by Abdul MAJEED / AFP)

Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday has ordered the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to restore the Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj’s Samadhi and the Krishna Dwara Mandir in two weeks' time. The Hindu temple in Teri village of Karak district was vandalised and was allegedly set ablaze by hundreds of people on December 30. Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed, following the attack on the temple, took Suo Moto cognizance. His decision came after minority lawmaker Ramesh Kumar briefed the Chief Justice about the temple being vandalised during their meeting in Karachi last week. READ | India Records Highest Number Of Babies Born On New Year's Day Pakistan's top court has ordered to start the restoration work immediately and submit a progress report in two weeks to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, as reported by the Pakistan Daily - Dawn. The order also said that people who vandalised the temple should pay for its restoration. Justice Ahmed said that the Karak incident had caused "international embarrassment to Pakistan". In addition, the apex court has also asked for reports on the number of temples in Pakistan, encroachment on land belonging to the Auqaf department, and the steps taken by the authorities against land grab. The Auqaf department looks over all the temples in Pakistan. Earlier, the one-man commission on the rights of minorities at the Supreme Court submitted its report on the Karak temple vandalism. The commission asked for a detailed investigation into the matter. The report also believed that Maulvi Sharif, one of the main suspects in the matter, incited violence and also said that the record of the temple land at the time of partition should be looked into. The report further recommended to stop the entry of suspicious people inside the temple and should punish the offenders in order to prevent such attacks. The temple was first attacked and demolished in 1997. The local community agreed to the reconstruction after the Supreme Court intervened in 2015. Following the last incident, local police had detained 14 people.