After an angry mob in Pakistans Khyber Pukhtunkhwa provinces Karak district, attacked and vandalized the shrine of a Hindu saint in Terri area of Karak; the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP) government has announced the reconstruction of the Hindu temple, along with launching a crackdown against the attackers. India has strongly protested the attack and vandalisation. 

Chief Minister Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP) Mahmood Khan has issued instructions to relevant authorities to ensure reconstruction of the Hindu temple, while police authorities have arrested at least 45 people, including three notable clerics, who were nominated.

Among the nominated religious clerics, a local leader of the religious political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Rehman Salam Khattak, has also been arrested.

Angry and violent protesters attacked and set ablaze the Samadhi of Shri Paramhansji Maharaj on Wednesday over a dispute over its expansion.

As per the police authorities, Rehman Salam Khattak of JUI-F had participated in a meeting before the attack on the shrine.

However, the plan to attack the shrine was decided and ordered by local clerics Maulana Mohammad Sharif and Maulana Faizullah.

Police officials have been searching dozens of houses to arrest the people involved in the attack.

The shrine holds critical importance as in 2015, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered the KP government to restore and rebuild the shrine, while hearing a petition by Ramesh Vankwani, member national assembly and patron of Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC).

The court's decision came after it became a dispute and confrontational contention between the Muslim and the Hindu community.

As per latest details, police authorities have been directed to ensure security of the places of worship of minorities and protect their constitutional right, enshrined in the country's constitution.

KP Inspector General of Police Sanaullah Abbasi confirmed that "the first information report (FIR) has been lodged in the case and a probe was underway".

"At least 350 persons had been named in the FIR," he said.

Abbasi also confirmed that more arrests will be made in the coming days after the accused are identified through video clips and still images.

The local leadership of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) condemned the incident, insisting that an act of a few individuals should not be attributed to the entire Khattak tribe that inhabits Karak.

Moreover, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) took suo moto notice of the incident, fixing the case for hearing on January 5.

Hafiz Mohammad Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, representative of Religious Harmony and Middle East, strongly condemned the incident, assuring zero tolerance towards the culprits.

"Attack on Hindu temple in Karak is very sorrowful and regrettable. The Constitution assures complete protection to the minorities and the elements involved in attack on temple have damaged the image of Islam and Pakistan," he said.

Police have arrested 31 people, including district leaders of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) here for vandalising and demolishing the shrine of a Hindu saint in Teri area of the district.

Police officials said that JUI-F senior leader Rehmat Salam Khattak was also among the arrested persons on Thursday. He was arrested from his residence in Chokara area of Takht-i-Nusrati tehsil. He served as provincial general secretary of PML-N before joining JUI-F, the Dawn reported.

Officials said that they raided the houses of people, who were involved in the attack on the shrine. However, several of them, who took part in damaging the shrine, went underground to avoid arrest, they added.

Teri police registered an FIR against the people involved in the attack for defiling place of worship, hurting religious sentiments, robbery, hurt, arson, mischief and assault. The FIR also included Section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act.

The FIR stated that Maulana Mohammad Sharif during a protest informed the gathering about the shrine and said that they would neither allow a Hindu shrine on the soil of Teri nor the visits by Hindus.

It said that during his speech, he asked the participants numbering 1,000 to 1,500 to destroy the shrine.

"Whoever dies while demolishing the shrine would be a martyr," the FIR quoted the cleric telling the crowd.

It said that about 400 people led by Maulana Sharif attacked the shrine and set it on fire.

It said that the attackers also opened fire on police. It added that the mob also took away artifacts from the shrine.

Provincial police chief Dr Sanaullah Abbasi also visited the Hindu shrine. He said that investigations were underway and FIR was lodged in the case. He said that 31 accused were arrested for attacking the shrine while 350 persons were nominated in the FIR and raids were being conducted for their arrest.

Ishaq Khattak, a local elder, told Dawn that the situation remained calm in Teri and mostly locals stayed away from the site of occurrence. He said that Teri Bazaar also remained closed.

Meanwhile, the district chapter of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf condemned the incident and said that chief minister and IGP should take practical steps for the arrest of the people involved in the attack on the Hindu shrine.

Addressing a press conference, PTI district general secretary Kamran and senior vice president Ashiq Muneer said that it was an act of few individuals and should not be attributed to the entire Khattak tribe.

They said that stringent action should be taken against the people involved in the attack.

They said that police committed criminal negligence during the attack and district administration failed to take timely steps to prevent the incident.

They demanded of the chief minister to suspend deputy commissioner, district police officer and DSP of tehsil Banda Daud Shah and other responsible administrative officers for their failure to preempt the attack.

In Peshawar, Awami National Party provincial president Aimal Wali Khan condemned the incident and described it as an attempt to pave way for resurgence of violence in the Pakhtun region.

In a statement, he said that the provincial government should bring to justice those people, who led the mob to attack the shrine. He said that it was prime duty of the government to provide security to all citizens including non-Muslims and their places of worship.

The ANP leader also condemned setting on fire houses in Waziristan and said that such incidents would increase violence in the Pakhtun belt. He said that Pakhtuns were peace-loving people, who always played role for promoting interfaith harmony.

In Kohat, minority leaders condemned vandalising of the Hindu shrine in Karak and said that India would use the incident against Pakistan. Former district councillor Mubashir Naz in a statement said that the stigma attached to such a big incident could not be removed.

Advocate Rohit Kumar said that the incident hurt the feelings of the Hindus living in Sindh.
(IANS)