Temple issue sent to religious body: Minister
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Religious Affairs has forwarded a case regarding the provision of official grants for the construction of a temple to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), while the first public protest in support of the temple’s construction was held in the capital.
In a letter, Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noor-ul Haq Qadri sought the CII’S opinion on whether the government was allowed to fund the construction of a temple in Islamabad.
The letter asked whether the government can build a non-muslim place of worship using government funds. It said that a delegation from the Islamabad Hindu Panchayat and some non-muslim parliamentarians had met
The fruit also helps sweeten diplomatic relations, with Pakistan sending crates of its best produce to India’s prime minister every year, regardless of the political climate between the hostile neighbours.
It has also earned a place in recent literary history, with renowned Pakistan author Mohammed Hanif longlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize for “A Case of Exploding Mangoes,” a comic
Qadri and asked for government funding to be allocated for the temple’s construction.
The letter said that the ministry also deals with the Minorities Welfare Fund, which is used for the repair and maintenance of religious sites of minority communities on the basis of recommendations from non-muslim parliamentarians.
“However, construction of a new place of worship for the religious minorities was not permissible under the rules,” the letter said, adding that in view of the situation, the application was forwarded to the Prime Minister’s Office for consideration.
The minister’s letter pointed out that parnovel based on an unexplained 1988 plane crash that killed former president Muhammad Zia ul-haq.
With much of the world’s air traffic grounded liamentarians and Qadri met Prime Minister Imran Khan on this matter, which was made controversial by clerics who opposed it on social media and approached the religious affairs ministry to object to the construction of a temple using public money.
CII Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz acknowledged that he had received the ministry’s letter and said it has been forwarded to the council’s research department to formulate an opinion on this question.
Dr Ayaz said clerics should not protest the matter, but should guide the CII on it instead. He said it will be taken up during the CII’S meeting scheduled for September, as it takes by the coronavirus, exports of the best prime, ripe fruit by plane to the US and Europe have been particularly hard hit, but ground transport has also been badly affected.
Dozens of trucks piled high with the yellow fruit were stranded at the border with Iran last month, their precious cargo roting in the searing 40-degree heat. two to three weeks for the research department to finalise an opinion after holding consultations and seeking public comments if needed.
A protest was also held in support of the temple’s construction at the National Press Club, led by Ammar Rashid from the Awami Workers Party.
The protesters said the temple should have been built for the city’s Hindu population decades ago, and demanded that the government not bow down to pressure from extremists who have been harassing citizens of the country constantly on various pretexts.