RAWALPINDI: The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Rawalpindi Region has sought the assistance of the Rawalpindi division commissioner to launch an inquiry against a school principal who demolished a portion of a gurdwara and built a mosque in the gurdwara without permission.

The Government Ziaul Uloom High School for Boys is located within the Gurdwara Singh Sabha. The gurdwara is owned by the ETPB and under the law tenants cannot make any changes to the building, in order to protect the religious site.

ETPB Rawalpindi Region Deputy Director Asif Khan told Dawn that property no. U-350 in Raja Bazaar was under the board’s control, and the government high school opened there years ago.

“The principal built a mosque in the building without permission, as under the law a gurdwara or temple cannot be converted into a mosque and the tenant will not make any changes in the building without the board’s prior permission,” Mr Khan said.

Govt school principal demolished a portion of the building and established a mosque without permission

He said local Hindu and Sikh residents had expressed resentment after the move, and asked the ETPB to take action against the school administration. Mr Khan said the ETPB had given many schools buildings that used to be gurdwaras and temples, after sealing the main portions of religious rooms to protect them from any changes.

The ETPB had contacted the education authority, which issued notices to the school administration that the school did not give attention to, he said. After this, he said, the ETPB had no choice but to bring the matter to the Rawalpindi division commissioner.

He alleged the school administration also sold the debris from the demolished portion of the building without permission. He said the school had nothing to do with the portion or the right to pull down the structure.

“It is the duty of the ETPB to repair the building and make changes to it in consultation with local Hindu and Sikh residents, Mr Khan said.

He added that the building was temporarily handed over to Abdul Majeed in 1965 by the deputy commission to establish a school. It was later handed over the Jamia Rizvia Ziaul Uloom organisation and then, during the 1979 martial law, handed over to the government education department.

A senior district administration official told Dawn the commissioner had sought a report from the education authority, and would take action after it had received the report.

He said the education department was in agreement with the ETPB and wanted to launch an inquiry against the school administration.

Commissioner Talat Mehmood Gondal could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts.

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2017