A top Pakistani official on Friday assured the country’s minority Hindu and Sikh communities that no one has been allowed to inflict any damage to the temples and gurdwaras in this city after some bricks were removed from dilapidated minarets during construction activities.
Deputy Director Muhammad Asif Khan of Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), which looks after the holy places of minorities in Pakistan, said that permission to construct commercial and trade centres in areas around Asamai temples was granted after fulfilling all formalities.
He gave an assurance that commercial construction activities would not inflict any damage to the historic structures of the temples and gurdwaras in Asamai area in interior Peshawar city.
Clarifying about the incidence of removal of some bricks from the dilapidated minarets of the temples, Khan said that the contractors have been directed to repair the minarets which are slightly damaged.
The EPTB official further clarified that no one has been allowed to inflict any damage to the temples and gurdwara during construction activities in the area close to the temples.
Asked about handing over the temples and gurdwara to the respective communities, Khan said that if members of the Hindu and Sikh communities approached the ETPB to this effect, the matter could be settled through legal and constitutional means.
Recently, members of the Sikh and Hindu communities had expressed concern over the dilapidated conditions of the Asamai temples and gurdwara.
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