Historic Hindu temple vandalised in Pakistan

Islamabad, May 21: Unidentified men yesterday vandalised a historic

in Peshawar city of northwest

that was reopened on the orders of a court last year,

officials and local residents said.

The attackers burnt pictures and damaged a shivling inside Gorakhnath Temple and took away idols from the shrine located within an archaeological complex in Gor Gathri area, leaders of the Hindu community said on May 20.

The shrine’s custodian told the media that this was the third attack on the temple in the past two months. Police officers visited the temple to probe the incident. Hindu leaders urged police to put in place better security measures to prevent such incidents.

The temple's custodian told police that he had seen a group of eight men inside the temple when he arrived there at 6.30 pm. The men started burning pictures and holy books before fleeing with some idols, he said.

Members of the minority Hindu community rushed to the temple. Footage on television showed burnt papers and utensils lying strewn on the floor of the temple. The 160-year-old temple was reopened for Hindus last year on the orders of the Peshawar High Court.

It has been closed since Partition. The temple was reopened after Phool Wati, the daughter of the shrine's cleric, petitioned the High Court.

PTI