Lahore, Pakistan - Hindus living in Pakistan have demanded of the Pakistan Government to reconstruct or repair more than 1000 temples across Pakistan which were destroyed in December 1992, in the aftermath of demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya (India) on December 6 the same year.
The All Pakistan Balmik Sabha (APBS), a major Hindu organisation in the country, said that no religion in the world permitted violence and blamed anti-human individuals in India of fanning religious hatred by demolishing the Babri Mosque.
APBS chairman JJ Vishnu Mangay Ram said that the Babri Mosque demolition had affected humanity on both sides of the border. He demanded the government to fulfil its promise and reconstruct the places of worship of the minority Hindus.
APBS Balochistan president Atnay Ram Chohan said that more than 1000 Hindu temples had been damaged in Pakistan following the Babari Mosque incident, and the government had assured the Hindu community that their places of worship would be restored, but that promise has yet to be fulfilled.
APBS Punjab general secretary Dr Munohar Chand said that though the government had started reconstructing several temples in Multan, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Kohat, Bahawalpur and Lahore, the pace of work was slow and must be completed on priority to promote religious harmony in the country. He added that several temples in Lahore including Jain Mandir, Krishna Mandir, Balmik Mandir in Nila Gumbad, Balmik Mandir and Bawa Mandir in Taxali Gate and Shah Alam Mandir had been damaged in the violent protests in 1992, but the government had only reconstructed the Krishna Mandir on Ravi Road.
He added that the government had reconstructed the Krishna Mandir structure, but ignored the traditional worship symbols.