Over 40 more arrested over attack on Hindu temple in Northwest Pakistan

Pakistani police have arrested 45 more people for their alleged involvement in the vandalisation of a Hindu temple by a mob led by members of a radical Islamist party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Over 350 people were named in the FIR after the temple in Terri village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Karak district was vandalised and set on fire on Wednesday by a mob protesting against its expansion work. With the latest arrests, the number of accused arrested in the case has risen to 100.

The arrested people were produced in the anti-terrorist court (ATC) where the police secured three days remand of the accused.

The temple, which also has a samadhi of a Hindu religious leader, was attacked by the mob after members of the Hindu community received permission from local authorities to renovate its decades-old building.

The mob, led by some local clerics and supporters of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party (Fazal ur Rehman group), demolished the newly constructed work alongside the old structure.

The attack on the temple drew strong condemnation from human rights activists and the minority Hindu community leaders.

India had also lodged a protest with Pakistan over the vandalisation of the temple and sought strict action against those responsible for the incident.

The protest was conveyed to Pakistan through diplomatic channels, sources in New Delhi said on Friday.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan assured that his government would reconstruct the damaged temple and the Samadhi at the shortest possible time.

According to a notification issued by the Chief Minister's Secretariat on late Saturday night, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government constituted a four-member committee to assess the damages caused to the temple and develop its reconstruction plan in consultation with the Hindu community.

The committee has been asked to complete the work in 10 days.

(with inputs from agencies)