“You are free to go to your temples!!” this is part of quote from the famous speech of father of nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
The constitution of Pakistan gives equal rights of every citizen without any discrimination on religion basis.
To show the solidarity with second largest religion in the country ‘Hinduism’, the groundbreaking ceremony of 1st Hindu temple ‘Krishna’ in federal capital Islamabad was observed June 23rd and the government wowed to protect the rights of minorities on priority basis.
The parliamentary secretary on human rights, Lalchand Malhi, who performed groundbreaking ceremony for constitution Temple for his community, expressed gratitude towards federal government and its departments on the remarkable occasion.
He continued with tear filled eyes, “Our contribution in every walk of life is visible. The non-Muslim politicians, philosophers, lawyers, judges, bureaucrats, doctors, engineers, teachers all are serving the sacred homeland only because they have freedom of religion, speech, association, thought, profession etc.”
Hinduism is the second largest religion in Pakistan with total population of around four million as recorded by federal census department. A large part of Hindu community is placed in Sindh province, however they have also resided in all major cities of the country and government of Pakistan is fully committed to give all privileges and rights equal to any citizen of country.
More than 200 families of Hindu community are residing in federal capital of the country, however since the independence, there was not a single state owned worship place and crematorium for Hindu community in Islamabad.
However, after the seven-years of long struggle, finally the groundbreaking ceremony for construction of ‘Krishna’ temple was observed in federal capital. Pakistan’s federal government has allotted the land of 4 Kanal in H-9 sector right in the heart of Islamabad.
The ceremony was attended by the parliamentary secretary on human rights Lalchand Malhi, the president of Hindu Panchayat Islamabad Mahesh Chaudhary, the former office bearer of Hindu Panchayat Prem Das, Ashoke Kumar and other representatives of Hindu community from Islamabad.
Mr Lalchand Malhi was of the view that there was not a single worship place, crematorium, community center and other facility for Hindu community in Islamabad.
“The remarkable event of groundbreaking for Krishna temple construction will promote the soft image of Pakistan in the entire world. We are grateful to federal government and federal minister of religious affairs, Noor-ul-Haq Qadri to convey the long awaiting demand of Hindu community residing in Islamabad” he maintained.
He said that the federal government is committed to release the funds for construction of temple in Islamabad, adding that “Kartarpur corridor for Sikh pilgrims was a billion-rupee project completed on priority basis with fastest pace of time. We strongly believe that federal government will release the required funds of 80 million to complete this project on priority basis as well”, he said.
The constitution of Pakistan guarantees equal rights to all its citizens. The government of Pakistan has a zero tolerance policy for any discrimination against minorities.
Pakistani Hindu community had strongly condemned the new Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which discriminates against Muslims in India, he said.
They had also rejected India’s offer to grant them citizenship under the new law. They said they are not interested in taking refuge in India and criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘doctrine’ against persecution of Muslims in India.
Lalchand believes that only a tolerant society based on the principles of interfaith harmony can ensure social inclusion by providing all citizens equal opportunities to grow irrespective of their religion or faith, adding that interfaith harmony is the way forward towards peace and prosperity in the society in line with initiatives taken by government of Pakistan.
In the wake of communal violence against Muslim minorities all over the ‘Republic of India’, especially New Delhi, the Pakistan government, in a preemptive move, has directed all provinces to protect Hindu minorities from any untoward incident.
The Home Department, Punjab, on the instruction of the Ministry of Interior, has directed the inspector general of police, Punjab, the regional police officers and the commissioners to monitor the situation and make sure the safety of minorities.
The Indian media has a consistent pattern of maligning Pakistan by fabricating stories of persecution of minorities. Given the worst treatment of minorities in India, particularly the Muslims, India simply does not have any credentials to point finger at Pakistan.
When Pakistan came into being, so much propaganda had been made by its enemies about the future of non-Muslims living in Pakistan. But minorities in Pakistan were given all their fundamental rights in the constitution.
Although there have been some incidents where few miscreants have tried to bring bad name to the country by targeting religious minorities, an overwhelming majority of Pakistanis always condemned any such attempt.
Along with these constitutional guarantees of fundamental rights, practical steps were taken by the state and the society for the protection of these rights. As a result, the minorities are able to live their lives according to their religion and culture. Guarantee of fundamental rights proved very helpful for the progress of the country because minorities are playing very vital role in the national progress.
Kapil Dev a human rights activist who was at the forefront in making efforts for allotment of state land for construction of Hindu Temple, termed it a big day for the community. Kapil who is from Hindu community told The News Today that land for the Temple was allotted by Capital Development Authority in 2016 during last tenure of PML-N. He appreciated efforts of parliamentarians of different parties, especially PPP’s Farhatullah Babar and Mustafa Nawaz Khokar for their support in allotment of land.
In the adjacent city Rawalpindi there is one functional temple only while another one is inside a home, he said adding that a temple in Islamabad would cater hundreds of Hindu families of twin cities.
Population of Hindu community is gradually increasing in the federal capital, as many business families from Sindh have been moving in Islamabad for better business opportunities.
“The capital city where we have many Mosques and Churches, an addition of this temple would give a good message across the world that every religious community in Pakistan has all the freedom to practice their religion, as delineated by the father of nation in his speech of 11 August, 1947 speech” Kapil remarked.
