12 Policemen Fired for Failing to Protect Temples in Pakistan

Twelve policemen, including a local police chief, have been fired for failing to stop an attack on a temple in the Karak district of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The attack took place on December 30

Police said in a statement on Friday that several policemen had fled during the attack It has been called 'cowardly work' and 'negligence of duty' Another 48 policemen have been given various punishments

About 100 people were arrested in connection with the attack on the temple Among them are supporters of the fundamentalist Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam

The temple was built in the early 19th century in the Karak district, 160 km southeast of Peshawar. It was vandalized once in 1998 Later in 2015, the Supreme Court ordered it to be rebuilt

Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, head of the Pakistan Hindu Council and a member of the ruling party, said after the attack that the temple was one of the four largest places of worship for Pakistan's nearly 6 million Hindus.

The government has promised to rebuild the temple before taking disciplinary action against the police.

Source: DW