Shree Krishna Temple @ H-9 Area, Islamabad, Pakistan

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Shree Krishna Temple @ H-9 Area, Islamabad, Pakistan

Shri Krishna Mandir, still under construction, is the first Hindu temple to be granted permission to be built in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, on 0.5-acre land in the H-9 area of Islamabad Capital Territory. It will be a place of worship for the 3,000 Hindus living in Islamabad. The temple will be managed by the Pakistan Hindu Panchayat.

 

• Google Maps: bit.ly/KrishnaICT
• Coordinates: 33°39'51.2"N 73°02'50.3"E
• Affiliation: Hinduism
• Type: Hindu Temple
• Deity: Krishna
• Location: H-9 Area
• District: Islamabad
• State: Islamabad Capital Territory
• Country: Pakistan

Background:

Before 1947, temple structures were present in Islamabad and surrounding regions, such as the temple-like structures in Saidpur village, but they have been abandoned and are not used. The Saidpur village was declared as a heritage site and since the temple is surrounded by shops and restaurants. The Hindus were not allowed to pray there. The temple-like structure in Saidpur village is not actually a temple but a Dharamshala.

The Hindu community has been demanding the allocation of land where they could build a temple. In 2016, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) allocated half an acre in sector H-9 for building a temple. However, the small Hindu community of Islamabad was unable to collect the money required to build the temple: the money they collected through donations was only enough to build the boundary wall. So, in 2018 the Hindu Community pleaded for help from Prime Minister Imran Khan. This demand was raised again in January 2020. In June 2020, the Pakistan Religious Affairs Minister said that the government will give money for the construction of the temple. The ground-breaking ceremony of the temple construction was performed on 24 June 2020. On 27 June 2020, Prime Minister Imran Khan released Rs.100 million for the construction of the temple.

Specifications:

In 2018, some miscreants encroached the temple plot and made tents inside it. They were allegedly backed by the people from Seminary. They were cleared from the plot by the Islamabad capital administration after several months.

Following the decision to construct a Hindu temple in Islamabad in 2020, some extremists spoke against it. A petition was filed in the Lahore High Court against the construction of the temple. According to the petitioner, "Pakistan was created in the name of Islam and Pakistan's Constitution does not allow any action against the principal of Islam". Three other petitions were filed in the Islamabad High Court against the temple construction. The Islamabad High Court rejected the petition to stay the temple construction and the Court said that the rights of minorities are protected in the Constitution and it must be protected. Fatwa was issued by the Jamia Ashrafia against the construction of a new Hindu temple in Pakistan. The Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q) opposed the construction of a Hindu temple. The PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi argued that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam and to build a Hindu temple is against Islam. The religious parties like Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), Jamiat Ahle Hadith, and Jamaat-e-Islami were against the construction of a Hindu temple as according to them it is against Pakistan’s ideology.

The Jamaat-e-Islami held a protest rally outside the Rawalpindi Press Club against the temple construction. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) is planning to file a petition in the Federal Shariat Court. The Ittehad-e-Tanzeem Madaris (an umbrella body of the madrassa boards) also opposed the temple construction. Certain media criticized the fundamentalists and stated that Islamabad has five wine shops and the fundamentalist were not opposing that but selectively criticizing the temple construction. However, Muslim groups like Pakistan Ulema Council, Shia Ulema Board, and the Catholic Human rights organization NCJP supported the temple construction.

Following the controversy, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) stopped the construction of the boundary wall around the temple plot and the Ministry of Religious Affairs decided to take advice from the Council of Islamic Ideology on the decision to give money for the temple construction. However, the Pakistan Hindu Panchayat said that they had already submitted an application to the CDA for construction of the wall but no response was provided. Meanwhile, the partially build boundary wall was demolished by a group of extremists. The videos of extremists demolishing the boundary wall went viral on social media and the Pakistanis heavily criticized the demolition. One video was of an extremist demolishing the temple wall and the other was of another fundamentalist who is standing on the demolished wall and saying Azaan. Following the incident, the netizens in Pakistan started trending #MandirTauBanega on Twitter, which became one of the top trends on social media. Amnesty International also urged Pakistan to reverse the decision of stopping the temple construction. The extremists who demolished the wall were not arrested. The radicals also threatened to kill every single Hindu.

On 8 June, the Islamabad High Court disposed of all petitions against the construction of the temple and ordered that the construction can continue after the building plan was approved by the CDA. An Intra Court Appeal(ICA) was filed challenging this decision of the Islamabad High Court and Court decided to take the Intra Court Appeal Later the Court dismissed the Intra Court Appeal. On June 8, the first public protest supporting the construction of the temple was held in Islamabad. On July 10, another protest was held outside the UN Headquarters in Geneva. The protest also happened in Nepal outside the Pakistan Embassy. The United Kingdom government also expressed their displeasure over the opposition of the Temple construction. The Council of Islamic Ideology will decide whether the government can grant money for the temple construction. And the final decision on it will be given in September.