According to a news report published in DAWN, Parliamentary Secretary on Human Rights Lal Chand Malhi, while speaking on the occasion, said that there were several pre-1947 era temple structures in the capital and adjoining areas, including one at Saidpur Village but were abandoned and not used.
“The Hindu population in Islamabad had increased significantly in two decades, therefore, the temple was necessary. Besides, there is also no crematorium in the city,” the lawmaker said.
MNA Lal Chand said that the Muslims in India were being prevented from going to mosques but here in Pakistan the Hindu community was able to build a temple, “which proves the accommodative policy of Pakistan”.
Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Noorul Haq Qadri has also assured the Islamabad’s Hindu Panchayat that the government would bear the cost of the construction which is currently estimated at Rs100 million.
Meanwhile, the Panchayat has named the temple of Islamabad as Shri Krishna Mandir. The 20,000 square feet plot in H-9/2 was allotted to Hindu Panchayat by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in 2017 on the orders of the National Commission for Human Rights.
However, construction work was delayed due to fulfillment of other formalities including the approval of the site map and documents from CDA and other relevant authorities.