Minority bodies say a banned outfit razed the shrine to expand a seminary; the Evacuee Trust Property Board says torrential rain brought it down.

Islamabad: Rights advocates, minority organisations and a small political party have asked the Shehbaz Sharif government in Islamabad to order an inquiry into the alleged demolition of a Hindu temple in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province. The structure, which stood in Siraj village of Narowal district for close to 125 years, was razed on August 21, according to a report by the news agency Press Trust of India (PTI).

The complainants want two things. They want the temple rebuilt in its original form, and they want what they call encroachments cleared from the land around it.

What happened in Siraj village

The temple occupied roughly 1,000 square metres in Siraj, a village in Narowal district about 130 kilometres from Lahore. Officials put its age at 100 to 125 years.

Next to it stood a madrassa, a religious school. The land under and beside that school is what the entire dispute turns on.

Who has been accused of the demolition

The PTI report says a group of religious hardliners pulled the temple down on August 21 so that its land could be folded into the adjoining seminary. It identifies them as members of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan, a far-right religious party that has been banned in the country.

Aslam Parvez Sahotra, chairman of the Pakistan Masiha Millat Party (PMMP), a party that works on minority issues, has alleged that material from the site was carried away afterwards. Metal fittings from the temple’s shikhar, the canopy above the shrine, and bricks from the walls were taken from the spot, he told PTI.

No response from Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan appears in the agency’s account. Response awaited.

What the government says about the collapse

The official version differs on the central point. Rana Iftikhar, a senior official of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), told PTI that the temple came down on its own after torrential rains in the region.

“The temple carries no name in our record books,” Mr Iftikhar said, adding that the structure was more than 100 to 125 years old.

The board he works for holds properties left behind by Hindus and Sikhs who migrated to India at Partition in 1947. Temples, gurdwaras, shops and farmland across Pakistan sit on its registers, and it leases many of those plots out.

Mr Iftikhar accepted that the land next to the temple had been leased for a seminary. “However, the temple’s land is not given to anyone for lease,” he said.

The police report from April

One document sits awkwardly beside the rain explanation. A report dated April 11 showed that the local police were already aware of security concerns around the temple and of the possibility that it could be damaged.

The madrassa lease and the land dispute

According to Mr Sahotra, the ETPB had leased the land adjoining the temple for the madrassa years earlier. The lease was cancelled later, he said, because rent had allegedly gone unpaid for several years and the premises were not being used for the purpose written into the agreement.

He also cited a revenue department report which, he said, records that several people have illegally occupied the quarters and other parts of the property.

The eviction order that was not enforced

Mr Sahotra pointed to an order dated January 29. In it, the board’s deputy administrator in Sialkot cancelled the seminary’s lease rights, ordered the eviction of illegal occupants and directed that the property be sealed.

“This order was not implemented,” Mr Sahotra alleged.

He met the Additional Home Secretary of Punjab on August 28 and submitted an application seeking action against those he holds responsible, including officials he accuses of failing to protect the site. The province is governed by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif.

His party has also asked the provincial government to protect Hindu temples, Sikh gurdwaras and Christian churches along with the land attached to them.

What Hindu residents in Narowal say

Rattan Lal, a Hindu community leader who sits on the Narowal District Peace Committee and the Pak Dharam Astan Hindu Committee, has asked the government to order restoration.

Mr Lal said the district administration and the ETPB failed to protect the site or remove the alleged occupants, which he said ended in “allowing the temple to be demolished.” He wants action against everyone found involved.

Members of the local Hindu committee, he claimed, are “even afraid to visit the site” because the madrassa continues to operate on the premises.

What happens next

Mr Iftikhar said senior officers of his department will take a call on restoring the temple. No timeline was given for that decision.

Whether a formal inquiry is ordered rests with the Punjab and federal governments. Neither has announced one in the account available. Response awaited.

Key Takeaways

• A Hindu temple of about 125 years in Siraj village, Narowal, came down on August 21, and the two accounts of how differ completely.
• Minority bodies blame members of a banned religious party who allegedly wanted the land for an adjoining madrassa.
• The ETPB says torrential rain caused the collapse and that temple land was never leased to anyone.
• An order dated January 29 cancelling the seminary’s lease and sealing the property was allegedly never carried out.
• A police report dated April 11 had already flagged risk to the site, months before it fell.

FAQ

Where exactly was the temple that was demolished in Pakistan?
It stood in Siraj village of Narowal district in Punjab province, roughly 130 kilometres from Lahore, on about 1,000 square metres of land. Board officials place its age at 100 to 125 years and say it carried no name in their registers.

Who has been accused in the Narowal temple case?
The PTI report names members of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan, a banned far-right religious party, and says they razed the structure on August 21 to add its land to a seminary next door. The party’s response is not on record. Officials deny any demolition took place.

What is the Evacuee Trust Property Board?
It is the Pakistani government body that holds and manages property left behind by Hindus and Sikhs who moved to India at Partition in 1947. Shrines, gurdwaras and attached land sit on its books, and it can lease portions of that land out.

Has the government acted on the complaints so far?
Mr Sahotra says he submitted an application to the Additional Home Secretary of Punjab on August 28 seeking action against the alleged perpetrators and against officials accused of negligence. A senior ETPB official said his department’s seniors will decide on restoration. No inquiry has been announced.

Sources

• Press Trust of India (PTI) report, as cited in the raw input
• Aslam Parvez Sahotra, chairman, Pakistan Masiha Millat Party, in comments to PTI
• Rattan Lal, Hindu community leader, Narowal District Peace Committee and Pak Dharam Astan Hindu Committee, in comments to PTI
• Rana Iftikhar, senior official, Evacuee Trust Property Board, in comments to PTI
• Order of the ETPB deputy administrator, Sialkot, dated January 29, as cited by Mr Sahotra
• Punjab revenue department report, as cited by Mr Sahotra
• Police report dated April 11, as referred to in the raw input