A man was arrested for vandalising the statue of Sikh leader Maharaja Ranjit Singh, located in the Lahore Fort, on Friday and several have come forward to condemn the act.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the ruler of the Sikh empire spread across many parts of Pakistan, with Punjab being the main territory, parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and even southern parts of the country. His statue was unveiled in the Lahore Fort at the Mai Jindan Haveli, on the emperor’s 180th death anniversary, by Sikh historian, writer and filmmaker Bobby Singh Bansal. Bansal’s London-based organisation the S.K. Foundation had funded the statue. It was sculpted by local artists, under the aegis of the Fakir Khana Museum.

Bansal himself had stated earlier that the statue was a project meant to forge a lasting friendship amongst the people of Punjab and that the statue had been donated to the people of Pakistan by his foundation to promote Sikh heritage and tourism here.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1595466/vandalism-of-ranjits-statue-condemned