Islamabad: The only Hindu temple in Lahore has been demolished to facilitate the construction of a four-storied commercial building.
Officials of the Evacuee Property Trust Board (EPTB), which maintains the properties of minorities, concealed from their chairman that the Krishna temple was a place of worship, the daily Dawn alleged in a report on Tuesday.
A prominent jeweller of the area was allowed to demolish the temple in Wachhoowali, Rang Mahal, and raise a commercial building in its place, the Dawn reported quoting official documents.
The demolition was a violation of the EPTB's rules on management and disposal of urban evacuee trust properties. An EPTB official told the newspaper that the EPTB chairman would not have allowed the temple to be transferred to the jeweler if he had been given correct information.
Opposition leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (N) had moved a motion in the National Assembly against the demolition, saying such an act could affect Pakistan's relations with neighbouring countries.
This is the second Hindu temple which EPTB administrator Chaudhry Javed Bashir has allowed to be demolished. Last year, he permitted the demolition of a temple in Vehari, Punjab, for the construction of a commercial building.
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