A Hindu Dharmashala in Karachi was saved from demolition, thanks to the intervention of the Pakistan Supreme Court. According to media reports, the court has barred the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) from demolishing a religious place and leasing it out to a property dealer for development. The case regarding this was heard by a three-judge bench. The case related to the implementation of a 2014 judgment on the rights of minorities.
Hindu politician Ramesh Kumar, who is also the co-opted member of the one-man commission on minorities, told the court that the property was a Dharamshala. Kumar also submitted photographs of the building and told the Supreme Court that the ETPB had leased the property to the individual for the demolition and allowed construction of a commercial plaza.
The Supreme Court’s order in the case ruled: “The very photograph apparently shows that the building is of a dharamshala constructed in the year 1932, which can be read from the marble slab affixed on the building and must be protected heritage building.” The court asked the Sindh provincial secretary heritage to prevent authorities from demolishing it. “In the meantime, no demolition activity of the said building shall be conducted by anyone and possession of the building and the land shall be taken over by the Commissioner Karachi, who shall manage the same and not allow any person to enter upon it,” the court ruled.
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