Court breather for Pak temple

In a significant decision, the Lahore High Court on Friday stayed the demolition of the lone Hindu shrine in the city.

In a significant decision, the Lahore High Court on Friday stayed the demolition of the lone Hindu shrine in the city. It had been announced earlier this week that the Krishna temple would make way for a commercial plaza.

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The orders to maintain a status quo at the site were issued on a petition filed by a Hindu resident of Rawalpindi, Om Prakash Narayan, who is also a member of the Pakistan Minorities Welfare Council.

Talking to Hindustan Times on the phone from Lahore, Narayan’s advocate Fawad Hussain Chaudhary said Justice Akhter Shabbir had ordered the Evacuee Board and all other respondents to restrain from further construction at the site. “The court asked the Evacuee Board to submit a written reply on contents of his petition,” Chaudhary said, adding that the next date of hearing had not been set yet.

Expressing hope that the court would accept their plea for restoration of the temple to its original grandeur, Chaudhary said that future of the historic Krishna temple at Sooa Bazar, Rang Mahal, came under a cloud when one Sohail Naseem of Wacchoowali Bazar, Lahore, and the Administrative Evacuee Trust Property Board, Eastern Zone, filed an application before the Evacuee Trust Property Board, Government of Pakistan, seeking to demolish the building.

“The evacuee board approved the application subject to certain conditions,” Chaudhary said.