PESHAWAR: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has canceled the allotment of land for the construction of Hindu temple in the federal capital, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) was informed on Monday.
The CDA had allocated 3.89 kanals land in Sector H-9/2 for the construction of a Hindu temple in January 2017. The plan was to construct a temple, community center and cremation ground to facilitate the Hindu community. In 2018, the court was informed that the plot was handed over Islamabad Hindu Panchayat (IHP).
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But three different petitions were filed against the construction of temple in Islamabad, claiming that construction of temple was not the part of Islamabad city’s mater plan. Justice Amir Farooq heard the petitions. The CDA lawyer Javed Iqbal informed the Islamabad High Court on the progress. Lawyer Iqbal said that the construction of temple was canceled on the direction of the federal cabinet. Iqbal said that the cabinet had directed to cancel the construction of buildings in the green area.
The Hindu Panchayat wanted to build a large complex on the site for the Hindu community. According to initial estimates, Rs500 million was required for the project. The Hindu Panchayat has started constructing four walls with its own money as the government had not yet release funds. The community had said that every citizen of Pakistan has an equal rights in the country and the construction of temple will send a message of religious harmony in Pakistan to the world.
The administration has allocated 20,000 square feet of space nearby for other religious minorities, including the Christian and Parsi communities. There are about 800,000 Hindus in Pakistan, most of whom live in the districts of Umerkot, Tharparkar and Mirpur in Sindh. The number of Hindus living in Islamabad is about 3,000.