06-18-2006, 01:46 PM
http://www.ibnlive. com/news/ panel-says- lahore-temple- gone-pak- govt-says- no/13224- 2.html
Lahore temple gone, says panel
Press Trust Of India
Islamabad: Pakistan's Minorities Welfare Council (MWC)
has <b>insisted that the only Hindu temple in Lahore has
been demolished though the Government claims the
structure is safe.</b>
The MWC has got a stay from the High Court on the
construction of a commercial building at the site of
the temple.
In a petition to Lahore High Court, Secretary General
of the council, Om Prakash Narayan, has said that the
<b>Krishna Mandir in Lahore, has been demolished</b>
following a notification from the Evacuee Trust
Property Board (ETPB) issued on March 9, 2006.
Narayan has asked the court to direct the police to
register a case against ETPB Chairman and others in
this connection. He also asked the court to order
restoration of the temple in its original form, local
daily, The Post, reported on Saturday.
In response to the petition, Justice Muhammad Akhtar
Shabbir has directed the officials to stop the
construction of a multi-story building purportedly
being built at the site and sought a report from ETPB.
ETPB is in charge of the minority Sikh and Hindu
religious properties in Pakistan.
<b>Pakistan Foreign Office had earlier dismissed the
razing of the Krishna Mandir as an incorrect report
and had said the temple was safe. </b>
"The only Krishna Mandir that exists in Lahore is safe
and the temple referred to in press is not the Krishna
Mandir but an abandoned property being used partly as
residential and partly as commercial since the time of
Independence, " the foreign office had said.
Petitioner's counsel, Fawad Hussain said that Shail
Naseem, a resident of Lahore, has applied to the ETPB
seeking explanation for the demolition of the
'historically' significant Hindu Temple.
Hussain, in his arguments said the management of
minority shrines had been given to ETPB through an Act
in 1975, adding that minority religious shrines were
public property and according to the law, no public
property big or small, tangible or intangible could be
disposed off.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister,
Ejazul Haq, has said the temple is intact and invited
BJP Leader L K Advani to pray there.
"The Krishna Mandir is in perfect condition. I invite
L K Advani to visit Lahore and pray at the temple,"
Haq was quoted as saying by the Daily Times.
Haq even said that Rs seven lakh had been spent on the
renovation of Krishna Mandir a few months ago.
ETPB Chairman, Lt Gen Zulfikar Ali Khan, rejected a
newspaper report that the board had allowed a private
developer to demolish Krishna Mandir to build a
commercial building.
"The newspaper wrongly reported that Krishna Mandir
was situated in the Wachhowali Bazaar in Rang Mahal.
The property under discussion and claimed as temple is
a disputed piece of land under the ETPB's control," he
said.
Khan also said the developer, Khawaja Sohail Naseem,
was constructing a building according to an agreement
with the ETPB, adding the developer had not sold the
property, as alleged.
Lahore temple gone, says panel
Press Trust Of India
Islamabad: Pakistan's Minorities Welfare Council (MWC)
has <b>insisted that the only Hindu temple in Lahore has
been demolished though the Government claims the
structure is safe.</b>
The MWC has got a stay from the High Court on the
construction of a commercial building at the site of
the temple.
In a petition to Lahore High Court, Secretary General
of the council, Om Prakash Narayan, has said that the
<b>Krishna Mandir in Lahore, has been demolished</b>
following a notification from the Evacuee Trust
Property Board (ETPB) issued on March 9, 2006.
Narayan has asked the court to direct the police to
register a case against ETPB Chairman and others in
this connection. He also asked the court to order
restoration of the temple in its original form, local
daily, The Post, reported on Saturday.
In response to the petition, Justice Muhammad Akhtar
Shabbir has directed the officials to stop the
construction of a multi-story building purportedly
being built at the site and sought a report from ETPB.
ETPB is in charge of the minority Sikh and Hindu
religious properties in Pakistan.
<b>Pakistan Foreign Office had earlier dismissed the
razing of the Krishna Mandir as an incorrect report
and had said the temple was safe. </b>
"The only Krishna Mandir that exists in Lahore is safe
and the temple referred to in press is not the Krishna
Mandir but an abandoned property being used partly as
residential and partly as commercial since the time of
Independence, " the foreign office had said.
Petitioner's counsel, Fawad Hussain said that Shail
Naseem, a resident of Lahore, has applied to the ETPB
seeking explanation for the demolition of the
'historically' significant Hindu Temple.
Hussain, in his arguments said the management of
minority shrines had been given to ETPB through an Act
in 1975, adding that minority religious shrines were
public property and according to the law, no public
property big or small, tangible or intangible could be
disposed off.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister,
Ejazul Haq, has said the temple is intact and invited
BJP Leader L K Advani to pray there.
"The Krishna Mandir is in perfect condition. I invite
L K Advani to visit Lahore and pray at the temple,"
Haq was quoted as saying by the Daily Times.
Haq even said that Rs seven lakh had been spent on the
renovation of Krishna Mandir a few months ago.
ETPB Chairman, Lt Gen Zulfikar Ali Khan, rejected a
newspaper report that the board had allowed a private
developer to demolish Krishna Mandir to build a
commercial building.
"The newspaper wrongly reported that Krishna Mandir
was situated in the Wachhowali Bazaar in Rang Mahal.
The property under discussion and claimed as temple is
a disputed piece of land under the ETPB's control," he
said.
Khan also said the developer, Khawaja Sohail Naseem,
was constructing a building according to an agreement
with the ETPB, adding the developer had not sold the
property, as alleged.