The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Wednesday sought Council of Islamic Ideology’s advice on issuance of government funds for construction of temple in the federal capital.
In a letter written to the CII, the ministry asked whether government funds could be used for the construction of new worship place for minorities or not.
The letter says that the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had allotted a four-kanal plot for construction of a Hindu temple in Sector H-9/2, Islamabad, on Dec 26, 2017. On Dec 10, 2019 the Ministry of Religious Affairs had received an application from Islamabad Hindu Panchiyat to fund the construction of new temple. Parliamentary Secretary Ministry of Human Rights Lal Chand Malhi and some minority legislators had also requested the ministry to allocate funds for construction of the temple.
The ministry distributes funds for repair and maintenance of worship places from its Minority Welfare Fund on recommendation of minority legislators. But the construction of new worship places for minorities is not permissible under the rules. Due to non-provision in rules for new construction, the application was forwarded to Prime Minister’s Office for consideration. The advice of CII is being sought on the objection of ulema and religious scholars that the new temple can’t be built with public money.
Meanwhile, CII Chairman Dr Kibla Ayaz has directed the CII’s research wing to finalise its recommendations after deliberations. The session of the CII will be summoned in September for giving opinion on the issue. He also asked ulema and religious scholars to send their arguments to the CII.
Meanwhile, Minister of Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri on Wednesday, commenting on the construction of a Hindu temple in the capital, said that there is ‘no question’ about its construction and the real issue is whether or not it could be built using public funds. Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, he said there has been a lot of talk on the issue recently. “There is no need to debate on the rights of minorities as they are protected by the PTI government. The party’s manifesto calls for removing all obstructions in the implementation of constitutional provisions regarding the rights of minorities.”
The minister said that a few minority members of the assembly had contacted him and said they had acquired four kanals for the temple and asked him to arrange funds for its construction. “I told them that I had limited funds for renovating existing places of worship and can’t arrange such a large sum. On the request of the members, the matter was referred to the prime minister and there has been no progress in this regard,” he said, adding that since then, a few religious scholars have issued statements opposing the construction of the temple using public funds. “There is no question on the temple’s construction. The issue is whether or not it can be built using public money.” Qadri said construction had been halted due to technical reasons and issues with the Capital Development Authority.
His remarks come a day after the Islamabad High Court disposed of three identical petitions filed against the construction of a Hindu temple in Islamabad’s Sector H-9/2. The court had observed that the construction of a worship place required mandatory approval of the regulator, in this case the Capital Development Authority.
Meanwhile, Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said that it is ‘unacceptable’ to deprive minorities of their places of worship and the rights granted to them under the constitution. “We have condemned violence against Muslims in India and Indian atrocities in occupied Jammu and Kashmir. When we speak out against all these issues, the persecution that Muslims are facing, the annexation in Israel […] if we don’t protect and defend our own minorities then how will we fight the case of other Muslims across the world?”
