ISLAMABAD: Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities Chela Ram Kewlani announced on Wednesday that a comprehensive policy aimed at stopping the recurrence of terrorist attacks similar to the rec­ent one on a Hindu shrine in Khy­ber Pakhtunkhwa would be unveiled soon.

In a separate statement, Special Representative of the Prime Minister on Religious Harmony Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi described the mob attack on the shrine of a Hindu saint in Karak district as a conspiracy designed to defame Pakistan as well as Islam and pit its citizens against each other as had been done in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

After visiting Teri village in Karak district, where the shrine of a Hindu saint was badly damaged recently by a mob led by a local cleric, Mr Kewlani said the incident had brought a bad name to the country.

“I saw there [in the village] that not only officials but also ordinary citizens are ashamed of the gruesome act perpetrated by few miscreants,” he said while talking to journalists.

Hafiz Ashrafi describes Karak attack as conspiracy to defame country

“The place was revered by all locals and a large number of Hindus visited the Samadhi (shrine) as a pilgrimage place,” he added.

All places of worship should be respected, he said and expressed gratitude to the Supreme Court not just for taking suo motu notice of the incident but also ordering that the state would rebuild the building.

“[The court’s observation that] the money required for reconstruction has to be recovered from the rioters will act as a guideline to prevent such incidents in future,” said Mr Kewlani.

“We will bring a comprehensive policy soon so that such incidents do not recur.”

He said that protecting the lives and property of all the citizens, including members of minority communities, was the responsibility of the state.

For his part, Hafiz Ashrafi pointed out that the criminals and facilitators of the Karak incident had been arrested, with the help of various video clips on social media.

“The quick response of the relevant state organisations has foiled this conspiracy and the rebuilding of the shrine will help heal the wounds of the aggrieved Hindu community,” he said.

He was of the opinion that Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa were striving to unite the Ummah.

“Everyone in Pakistan should unite against the evil designs of the extremists,” he said and claimed that cases of forced marriages had dropped by 90 per cent in the last three months due to the right policies of the state.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2021