Pakistan: No funds for temple construction says Minister of Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri

New Delhi, July 9 (HS) The construction of the temple in Islamabad is not assured as the recommendations have now been sought from the country’s Council of Islamic Ideology, an independent government body of religious leaders who advise government policy. Now this council will decide whether the Imran government will allocate fund for the temple or not.

Commenting on the construction of a Hindu temple in the capital, Minister of Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri said in the National Assembly, “There was no question about its construction and the real issue was whether or not it could be built using public funds. There has been a lot of talk on the issue recently.”

A fortnight ago, the government of Pakistan announced the construction of Shri Krishna temple for the Hindus of Islamabad and allotted a plot. Prime Minister Imran Khan himself was involved in the process of approving the construction of the temple and releasing funds for it.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Islamabad Hindu Panchayat and some non-Muslim MPs met Qadri and asked him to allocate government funds for the construction of the temple but he made it clear that he had limited funds for renovating existing places of worship and can’t arrange such a large sum.