Pakistan’s CDA halts construction of first temple in Islamabad following objection from ruling party’s ally

Pakistan’s Capital Development Authority (CDA) has reportedly halted the construction of a temple in Islamabad after objections were raised by an ally of the ruling party.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), an ally of PM Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf had opposed the construction of the temple by claiming that it was “against the spirit of Islam”. This objection came a week after a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the first temple in Islamabad in the presence of Parliamentary Secretary on Human Rights Lal Chand Malhi.

Pakistan PM Imran Khan had apparently cleared a grant of Rs 10 crore for the construction of the temple. According to PTI, Speaker of the Assembly of Pakistan’s Punjab province, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was quoted as saying, “Pakistan was created in the name of Islam. Construction of a new Hindu temple in its capital is not only against the spirit of Islam but also an insult to Riayasat-e-Madina.”

While provincial minister Fayyazul Hasan Chohan had claimed on July 2 that the construction of the temple will go forward as planned, his assurance seems to have fallen by the wayside. He had even clarified that land was allocated for the temple in Islamabad by the Pakistan Muslim League (N) government in 2016.

The proposal was that of a Krishna temple to be constructed on a 20,000 sq ft plot in Islamabad’s H-9 area. In fact, Parliamentary Secretary on Human Rights Lal Chand Malhi, who was present during the groundbreaking ceremony, had said that Islamabad was home to several pre-independence era temples but all of them were abandoned.

(With inputs from PTI)