The police in Pakistan’s Punjab province have arrested more than 20 people for allegedly vandalising a Hindu temple in Rahim Yar Khan district, Dawn reported on Saturday. The police have also booked more than 150 people in connection with the incident, according to PTI.
On August 4, a mob had vandalised the temple as a reaction to the alleged desecration of a Muslim seminary. Hundreds of people had descended on the temple after a local court granted bail to a nine-year-old Hindu boy who allegedly urinated at a library of the seminary last week. The boy was booked under Pakistan’s blasphemy law.
The Pakistan government has deployed paramilitary troops in the town of Bhong, where the temple is located, Al Jazeera reported.
Additional Inspector General of Police, South Punjab, Zafar Iqbal Awan, visited the area on Friday, and promised to provide full security to the local Hindu community. He added that restoration work has begun at the temple.
On Friday, Pakistan’s Supreme Court had ordered the immediate arrest of the culprits, and also directed authorities to restore the temple, The Express Tribune reported. The court also criticised the police and district administration for not taking timely action, and noted that the incident “tarnished the country’s image across the world”.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday condemned the attack and promised that the government will restore the temple.
Meanwhile, Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, said that attacks on temples and gurudwaras in Pakistan were occuring at an alarming rate. “The state and security institutions in Pakistan have stood by idly and completely failed in preventing these attacks on minority communities and their places of worship,” Bagchi told mediapersons on Thursday.
He also noted that India summoned Pakistan’s charge d’affaires, and lodged a strong protest against the incident.
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