Pakistan Ulema council supports construction of first Hindu temple in Islamabad

Islamabad: There was a lot of opposition to the construction of a Hindu temple in Islamabad, Pakistan. Many organizations and leaders called it anti-Islam and even warned of the terrible consequences. Now a group of Muslim organizations have supported the construction of the temple. The organization has also condemned the controversy over the issue. The organization says that everyone’s officers are given in the Constitution clearly.

The Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) has said that the constitution of Pakistan clearly defines the rights of Muslims and non-Muslims living in the country, according to a report in Pakistan newspaper ‘Dawn’. Many Islamic religious leaders and legalists of various Islamic traditions are members of this group.

PUC President Hafiz Mohammad Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi said on Friday, ‘We condemn the controversy over the construction of the temple. It is not right to do so (making it a controversy) by orthodox religious leaders. The PUC will convene a meeting and also present its stand before the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII).

CII is a constitutional body whose job is to provide legal advice to the Government of Pakistan on Islamic issues. Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs has written to CII seeking its opinion on the government’s grant for the construction of a temple in the capital amid protests from some Muslim groups.

Religious Affairs Minister Nurul Haq Qadri said on Wednesday that there is no problem with the construction of the temple, but the real issue is whether it can be built with public money. The government has approved a grant of Rs 10 crore for the construction of the Krishna temple. It is to be constructed on a 20,000-square-foot plot in the H-9 administrative section of the capital.