Pakistan’s Foreign Office firmly dismissed as “false and politically driven” the allegations made by India’s Ministry of External Affairs concerning a Hindu temple located in Adda Siraj, Narowal. The Foreign Office clarified that the damage to the temple was caused by severe rainfall, not any intentional act.
Addressing media inquiries about the Indian ministry’s statement, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan explained that the temple’s structure was compromised on July 21 due to torrential rains. He added that local authorities had already inspected the damage and initiated restoration efforts. The spokesperson condemned India’s actions as “shameful,” accusing it of distorting facts and resorting to cheap political tactics.
In a significant development, the statement highlighted that such misrepresentations could not divert attention from India’s “abysmal record of systematic persecution of minorities and state-sponsored attacks on their places of worship.” It further criticized the “weaponization of Hindutva ideology against minorities,” urging the international community to hold Indian leadership accountable for the treatment of Muslim, Sikh, and Christian communities within India.
The controversy surrounding the temple intensified after claims emerged that the over-century-old Hindu temple in Narowal’s village Siraj was demolished on August 21. A minority rights group alleged that the structure was deliberately dismantled, citing removal of bricks, metal fittings, and other materials. They also claimed that an adjacent seminary had previously occupied the property.
Meanwhile, the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) rejected these accusations, maintaining that the temple had collapsed due to heavy rainfall. ETPB official Iftikhar Rana clarified that while the adjoining land had been leased to a seminary, the temple’s own land remained unaffected. He emphasized that the temple was more than 100 years old.
The Punjab government supported the ETPB’s account after Minorities Affairs Minister Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora visited the site and confirmed that part of the temple had collapsed. The government announced plans to restore the damaged section, with the ETPB set to oversee the restoration process.
