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Pakistani police arrested 14 people in overnight raids after a Hindu temple was set on fire and demolished by a mob led by supporters of a radical Islamist party.
The temple s destruction on Wednesday in the north-western town of Karak drew condemnation from human rights activists and the minority Hindu community.
More raids were under way to arrest individuals who participated or provoked the mob to demolish the temple.
According to witnesses, the crowd was led by a local cleric and supporters of Pakistan s radical Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party.
The attack happened after members of the Hindu community received permission from local authorities to renovate the temple.
Muslim clerics among 26 held after Pakistan Hindu temple destroyed
Issued on:
31/12/2020 - 09:58 2 min
Karak (Pakistan) (AFP)
At least two dozen people, including several Muslim clerics, were detained Thursday after a mob attacked and set fire to a Hindu temple in northwest Pakistan, police said.
Around 1,500 Muslims descended on the temple which was destroyed in similar circumstances in 1997 after staging a protest against renovations at an adjoining building owned by Hindus.
The temple is located in a remote village in Karak district, some 160 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of Peshawar. We have arrested 26 people including local clerics for destroying a place of worship and inciting people to riot , local police official Fazal Sher told AFP.
31 arrested for setting fire to Karak Hindu temple
Cleric who led the mob also in custody SAMAA | Basit Gilani and AFP - Posted: Dec 31, 2020 | Last Updated: 3 months ago SAMAA | Basit Gilani and AFP Posted: Dec 31, 2020 | Last Updated: 3 months ago
Policemen inspect the burnt Hindu temple a day after a mob attack in Karak district on December 31, 2020. (AFP)
Police have arrested 31 people for setting fire to a historic Hindu temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Karak district, the KP inspector-general said Thursday.
IG Sanaullah Abbasi told reporters in Karak that at least 300 people have been nominated in the FIR. Of them, 31 have been arrested while others are being identified with the help of the video footage.