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Pakistan's Hindus Call to Resume Work on Temple Protested by Islamic
Hardliners

Niala Mohammad

   WASHINGTON - A government-funded project to construct a temple for
   minority Hindus in the capital, Islamabad, has stirred controversy in
   majority-Muslim Pakistan, with hardline Islamic clerics and politicians
   saying allocation of state money to the building goes against the
   Islamic ideology of the country.

   Members of the Hindu community, however, say the project is their basic
   religious right and vow to build it at their expense if the government
   does not provide them with support.

   Lal Chand Malhi, a Hindu-minority member and federal parliamentary
   secretary for human rights in Pakistan's National Assembly, told VOA
   that Prime Minister Imran Khan has agreed to grant Rs100 million in
   funds upon his request.

   He said the building, known as the Shri Krishna Mandir, or Krishna
   temple, would serve as a multipurpose complex that would include a
   crematorium and community center for the estimated 4 million Hindus
   living in Pakistan.

   "The prime minister readily agreed to my request. He was quite happy.
   And he directed the minister for religious affairs to clear any
   obstacles in the way to provide the funds for the temple to the Hindu
   Panchayath," Malhi told VOA, adding, "there should be no obstacles. We
   should be allowed to build the temple over here."

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