Hindu temple in Sindh reportedly attacked, holy scriptures desecrated

A Hindu temple in Kunbh, Sindh was attacked by vandals, according to reports.

According to images doing rounds on the social media, the temple in Sindh was attacked with holy scriptures and statues housed within it desecrated.

“Strongly condemn the attack on temple in Kunbh, Khairpur (Sindh). Reportedly, some miscreants set holy books on fire. Such incidents will harm exemplary interfaith harmony of Sindh. Govt need to take action against the miscreants,” tweeted a user with images of the damage caused to the temple.

Strongly condemn the attack on temple in Kunbh, Khairpur (Sindh). Reportedly, some miscreants set holy books on fire. Such incidents will harm exemplary interfaith harmony of Sindh. Govt need to take action against the miscreants. pic.twitter.com/i9DEcr6M4M

— Kapil Dev (@KDSindhi) February 3, 2019

“Hindu temple attacked in Kumb, Khairpur, Sindh. Holy scriptures and statues desecrated, the people who carried out this attack must be brought to justice,” wrote another.

There was no official confirmation about the incident at the time of filing of this report.

According to a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released last year, banned outfits continue to target minorities in Pakistan.

“In 2017, religious minorities in Pakistan, including Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Ahmedis…continued to face attacks and discrimination from extremist groups and society at large,” the report states, adding that as many as 231 people were killed and 691 injured in such incidents in Pakistan in 2017.

The report states that the government of Pakistan “failed to protect these groups adequately, and it perpetrated systematic, ongoing, egregious religious freedom violations”.

Last year, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said that the nation has failed to make progress on a myriad of issues, ranging from forced disappearances to women’s rights and protection of religious minorities.

According to the HRCP report, religious minorities in Pakistan continued to be a target of extremists, citing attacks on Shiites, Christians falsely accused of blasphemy and also on Ahmedis, a sect reviled by mainstream Muslims as heretics. Ahmedis are not allowed under Pakistan’s constitution to call themselves Muslims.