Pakistan: 12 policemen fired over 'negligence' during Karak's Hindu temple attack
Jan 14, 2021
Karak (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) [Pakistan], January 14 : At least 12 Pakistani policemen have been fired from their job for showing "negligent and irresponsible behaviour" during the attack on Hindu temple, which was vandalised and set on fire by an angry mob, in Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
On Thursday, the Karak district police ordered the dismissal of 12 policemen and a one-year suspension of 33 other cops on Thursday, Geo News reported.
Terry police SHO Rehmatullah and Banda police ASI Mujeebullah are among those who have been fired. The cops were dismissed in light of the inquiry report into the attack.
On December 30, a mob of over a hundred people led by local Muslim clerics had destroyed and set on fire the temple in the Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
A video clip that went viral on social media showed a violent mob destroying the walls and roof of the temple.
This act against the Hindu minority community has been widely condemned by human rights activists based in Pakistan and other parts of the world.
In the wake of the attack, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Kohat Region, Tayyab Hafeez Cheema had appointed Superintendent of Police (Investigation Wing) Zahir Shah as enquiry officer to probe the incident and submit its report within a week's time.
According to the Geo News, Shah conducted the probe against 73 police officials and recommended to dismiss 12 of them from service on charges of negligence and irresponsibility in the discharge of their official duties.
Early this month, Pakistan Supreme Court (SC) directed relevant authorities to start the restoration of the Hindu temple in Karak within two weeks besides summoning details of all temples from the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB).
Pakistan is a well-known perpetrator of such human rights violations. On several occasions, it has promised to safeguard the interest of minority communities in the nation. However, continuing attacks on minorities narrate a different story.
Islamabad has been discriminating against its religious minorities. This is manifested in various forms of targeted violence, mass murders, extrajudicial killings, abduction, rapes, forced conversion to Islam, etc., making Pakistani Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Ahmadiyyas, and Shias the most persecuted minorities in the region.
