06-28-2006, 06:11 AM
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
<img src='http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/images/2006/06/28/20060628_a01.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?p...8-6-2006_pg13_2
Krishna Temple controversy: âHindu nationalists must stop spreading rumoursâ
* Religious affairs minister Ejazul Haq says negative propaganda might hamper Indo-Pak peace
Staff Report
<span style='color:red'>
LAHORE: Federal Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq said on Tuesday that Indiaâs Hindu nationalist leadership must cease spreading propaganda about Hindu temples being destroyed in Pakistan. He said such allegations could impede the India-Pakistan peace process.
He told reporters that Krishna Temple (Ravi Road) was not demolished nor its land occupied as stated by the Indian media. He said that instead of making false allegations, Hindu nationalists should help improve relations with Pakistan, stop anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat and prevent the systematic demolition of mosques in India.</span>
He also criticised Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishan Advaniâs statements, saying the leader should act responsible and refrain from issuing baseless allegations.
He also said Advani should visit Lahore and see for himself that it was intact and the Religious Affairs Ministry had spent Rs 1 million on its renovation. âI will receive Advani at Wagah and he will be my guest during his stay in Lahore,â he said. Ejazul Haq was in the city to hand over a newly built Sikh crematorium at Babu Sabu near Bund Road to Sikh leaders and to lay the foundation of stone of a Hindu crematorium close to the Sikh one.
Mushtaq Victor, minister of state for minority affairs, said the department had checked whether temple land had been taken and discovered that land not linked to the temple and 300 yards away from it had been taken.
He said that another building that was reported to have been a temple and to have been demolished to make place for a commercial plaza, was found intact in Wachhoo Wali Bazaar. He said the building, which had shops on the ground floor and one hall on the first floor, might have been a temple decades ago, but was not one anymore and there were no signs of any Hindu relics or pandits.
He said the building had also been used as a residential place for many decades. He also distributed photocopies of the tenancy documents between reporters. Hindu MNAs Kirshan Bheel and Devdas and MPAs Rajveer Singh, Ishwar Lal, Om Prakash, and Ram Narain Malkani praised the government for providing all facilities to minorities in Pakistan, saying the controversy was apparently engineered to create misunderstanding between Hindus and Muslims.
<span style='color:red'>
They also asked Indian leaders to keep a check on their domestic situation and stop the demolition of mosques. They said the Hindu community enjoyed complete religious freedom, voting rights and the right to contest on general as well as seats reserved for minorities.
Later, Ejazul Haq took the Hindu and Sikh leaders and reporters to Krishna Temple and met the pundit there.</span>
<img src='http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/images/2006/06/28/20060628_a01.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?p...8-6-2006_pg13_2
Krishna Temple controversy: âHindu nationalists must stop spreading rumoursâ
* Religious affairs minister Ejazul Haq says negative propaganda might hamper Indo-Pak peace
Staff Report
<span style='color:red'>
LAHORE: Federal Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq said on Tuesday that Indiaâs Hindu nationalist leadership must cease spreading propaganda about Hindu temples being destroyed in Pakistan. He said such allegations could impede the India-Pakistan peace process.
He told reporters that Krishna Temple (Ravi Road) was not demolished nor its land occupied as stated by the Indian media. He said that instead of making false allegations, Hindu nationalists should help improve relations with Pakistan, stop anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat and prevent the systematic demolition of mosques in India.</span>
He also criticised Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishan Advaniâs statements, saying the leader should act responsible and refrain from issuing baseless allegations.
He also said Advani should visit Lahore and see for himself that it was intact and the Religious Affairs Ministry had spent Rs 1 million on its renovation. âI will receive Advani at Wagah and he will be my guest during his stay in Lahore,â he said. Ejazul Haq was in the city to hand over a newly built Sikh crematorium at Babu Sabu near Bund Road to Sikh leaders and to lay the foundation of stone of a Hindu crematorium close to the Sikh one.
Mushtaq Victor, minister of state for minority affairs, said the department had checked whether temple land had been taken and discovered that land not linked to the temple and 300 yards away from it had been taken.
He said that another building that was reported to have been a temple and to have been demolished to make place for a commercial plaza, was found intact in Wachhoo Wali Bazaar. He said the building, which had shops on the ground floor and one hall on the first floor, might have been a temple decades ago, but was not one anymore and there were no signs of any Hindu relics or pandits.
He said the building had also been used as a residential place for many decades. He also distributed photocopies of the tenancy documents between reporters. Hindu MNAs Kirshan Bheel and Devdas and MPAs Rajveer Singh, Ishwar Lal, Om Prakash, and Ram Narain Malkani praised the government for providing all facilities to minorities in Pakistan, saying the controversy was apparently engineered to create misunderstanding between Hindus and Muslims.
<span style='color:red'>
They also asked Indian leaders to keep a check on their domestic situation and stop the demolition of mosques. They said the Hindu community enjoyed complete religious freedom, voting rights and the right to contest on general as well as seats reserved for minorities.
Later, Ejazul Haq took the Hindu and Sikh leaders and reporters to Krishna Temple and met the pundit there.</span>