Lahore : The demolition of historical Jain temple in Lahore has led to an uproar in Pakistan, with leader of opposition in Punjab assembly Mian Mehmood-ur-Rashid demanding an inquiry into the incident.
Rashid condemned the demolition of the temple while speaking to TOI from Lahore on Thursday, saying: “We condemn the incident. We have demanded an inquiry into the incident as to why the historical Jain temple was demolished and why it couldn’t be protected?” Pakistan’s Punjab government had demolished the temple on Wednesday for completion of Orange Line Metro Train (OMT) project. Besides the Jain temple, various other buildings, including Maharaja Building and Kapurthala House situated in Jain Mandir Square, were also brought down.
Stating that there was no doubt that OMT was an ambitious project, Rashid said it was also the duty of government to protect the heritage treasure of Lahore.
“We had already suggested that OMT be changed or a tunnel technology adopted to save the temple,” he added. As the news spread, opposition parties, including Pakistan Teh reek-e-Insaaf, Pakistan Muslim League(Q), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Pakistan People’s Party, held a demonstration against demolition of the Jain temple and other historical buildings, Rashid said.
Already many parts of the dilapidated three-storeyed, cone-shaped Jain temple had come under encroachment by various shopkeepers. A cleric ran a madarasa in one of the rooms of the temple that also became a target of communal frenzy in 1992 when its major part was brought down in retaliation of Babri Masjid demolition in India.
“How can a government be so indifferent towards not only the sentiments of a community, but also its own heritage wealth?” Rashid said.
Source : TOI