ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmad will celebrate the Diwali festival at Teri Temple, Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, tomorrow (Monday) to express solidarity with the local Hindu community as well pilgrims reaching there from other parts of the country.
According to a statement, the grand function to celebrate Diwali is being organised by the Pakistan Hindu Council, which invited the chief justice and other dignitaries to take part in the celebrations. The Hindu council will also host a large number of pilgrims from Sindh and Balochistan.
PHC patron-in-chief and member of the National Assembly Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani said presence of senior officials during the celebration would give a strong message to the miscreants that their nefarious designs would be foiled by the state.
To provide facilities to those arriving from Sindh and Balochistan, the Hindu council has also requested the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) to provide boarding and lodging facilities to around 1,500 pilgrims at Hassanabdal.
The pilgrims have already started arriving at Hassanabdal, from where they will proceed to the Teri area of Karak on Monday and return the same day.
The shrine is associated to a saint, Shri Param Hans Ji Maharaj, in Karak district where a temple was established in 1920. However, it was vandalised by a mob led by a local cleric belonging to the JUI-F last year.
Later on the orders of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, not only the temple was restored to its original condition, but the apex court also ordered the KP government in October 2021 to recover Rs33 million from the culprits involved in vandalising the century-old Samadhi.
On Dec 30, 2020, more than 1,000 people led by some local clerics belonging to the JUI-F instigated the villagers to demolish the temple as a result people led by local seminary students attacked the temple.
