PESHAWAR: The leasing of properties attached to three ancient Hindu temples and a Sikh gurdwara at Kashmir Camp adjacent to Sarafa Market in the provincial capital has caused a controversy, prompting non-Muslims to raise voice to secure possession of their historical, nonfunctional places of worship.

The said properties commonly known as Kashmir Camp are properties of Evacuee Trust Property Board, where Kashmir refugees were kept after Partition in 1947.

These people haven’t been relocated until now. The residents spent decades in the camp and even started using portions of the temples as part of their residence.

Non-Muslims demand possession of their ancient, nonfunctional worship places

Last month, the temples were sealed by district administration when reports started appearing in the media about the sale and demolition of residential quarters in the Kashmir Colony.

There are also reports that many residential quarters have been leased out to a well-off man of Khyber Agency, who has started demolishing the lodgings.

During a visit to the site, the residents disclosed that they had been provided alternative residential facilities on the basis of ownership if they agreed to vacate the Kashmir Colony or Kashmir Camp.

A local elder, Said Mohammad, 80, said he had not accepted the offer of alternative residence as the camp’s land was very costly and he wanted to get the proper price of his house.

“If I am given the price of my choice, I will vacate it otherwise I plan to change my residence into shops and rent them out to goldsmiths,” he said.

The elderly Kashmiri claimed to be the oldest in the camp but he would be unable to live any longer in the locality as many other Kashmiris have either shifted to other areas by selling their quarters or are about to leave.

“If the builder’s men start demolishing the rest of quarters, then my family members, especially women, will be unable to move in the vicinity in presence of strange labourers,” he said.

Of these Kashmiris, a group led by Mohammad Rafiq has welcomed the decision of giving them replacement, saying the Auqaf department officials were kind enough that provided them with alternative residential facilities at their choice.

However, lawyer Muazam Butt complained no advertisement had been issued to media for the sale or auction of Kashmir Colony.

A group of Hindus led by Haroon Sarbdiyal is trying to get possession of the temples. He told Dawn that it was duty of the government to hand over all the properties abandoned by his community members during Partition.

“We have not migrated from India but belong to Pakistan and have the right to get the land properties owned by Hindus so that we can establish schools, community centers and hospitals in name of our elders,” he pleaded.

He feared that the temples would not remain secure in case its attached properties were sold out and demolished by builders. He said the entire property should be given to Hindus.

When contacted, Auqaf department deputy administrator Asif Khan said the construction of any plaza or building won’t be allowed on temples or gurdwaras.

He said the department had sealed three Hindu temples and a Sikh gurdwara in the colony as some elements wanted to politicise the issue.

Mr. Asif said the Auqaf department was the custodian of the all minorities’ religious places and therefore, it had sealed Hindu and Sikh worship places.

He said the relevant area consisted of 31 marlas and 268 square feet, while 12 families lived there.

“When I read about this in a newspaper, I immediately met Peshawar additional commissioner and got the area temporary sealed to prevent the issue from becoming international news,” he said, adding that no one had the right to pull down the minorities’ religious places, while the Auqaf department could start construction by adopting legal means.

The official however didn’t reveal the actual status of the property attached to those worship places.

The questions like when was it advertised for auction? Who has bought it? Does anyone have the right to modify the historical structures without fulfilling the legal formalities? Is the Auqaf department authorised to sell/demolish the ancient structures of Kashmir Camp without written permission from archaeology department? Have yet to be answered by the authorities concerned.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2016