Dr Ramesh Vankwani – PTI Member National Assembly (MNA) on reserved seats and Chair of Pakistan Hindu Council – on Monday submitted an inquiry report to the Supreme Court of Pakistan on the temple desecration issue.
Speaking to The Correspondent outside the court premises, Dr Vankwani said: “I have submitted the inquiry report in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed will be hearing the case tomorrow. I myself visited the Karak temple along with Chief Secretary and Inspector General Police. There is clear negligence in this incident as information of such an attack was already there. Furthermore. 92 policemen including SHO’s and DSP’s were designated and still if such an incident occurs then its a huge mismanagement.”
When asked what recommendations he made in his report Dr Vankwani said that “we have recommended strict punishments so that such an incident doesn’t happen again. Furthermore, we have also given a plan for the reconstruction of the temple. The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has also been very active about the matter and has ensured me of his support regarding its reconstruction.”
Saying that the incident was compactly preventable he blamed certain government departments for shirking their duties. “I think Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) is the biggest culprit in this incident. There are 1831 temples and Gurudwaras in Pakistan and only 31 of them are active. Some of them closed, some on lease while others have been taken over illegally. They should be handed over to the Hindu community. We will have to take a closer look at the performance of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB).”
However, Dr Vankawani laid emphasis on how Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl has been cooperating with the Hindu community. According to the report submitted by the Chief Secretary, there is involvement of JUI-F people but I want to mention that many senior leaders of JUI-F have offered their support in the reconstruction of the temple. Maulana Atta ur Rehman has supported us in the rehabilitation of the temple like no other. Maulana Sharif who is behind this incident was once part of JUI-S back in 1996-97. He has changed many parties in the last 20 years but currently, he is JUI-F’s local leader that is why their name is being taken in this matter. The senior leadership of JUI-F have distanced themselves from the accuse saying that they respect the rights of the minorities.
On December 31 Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed took suo motu notice of the incident, and had directed Chairman of the minority rights commission, Inspector-General of police and Chief Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to submit a report on the incident by January 4.
