Jain temples: Court seeks govt’s reply by June 17

Judge unhappy over the chief secretary not meeting the petitioner.

LAHORE:

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah of the Lahore High Court on Monday expressed displeasure over the attitude of the chief secretary for not meeting Barrister Javed Iqbal Jaafri in connection with his petition for rehabilitation and restoration of Jain temples in the province.

The judge directed the respondents to file their reply with affidavits by June 17. On Monday, Jaafri said he had gone to the office of the chief secretary as directed by the court. He said neither the chief secretary nor any other official met him.

He requested the court to initiate contempt proceedings against him.

The judge asked Jaafri if he wanted to meet the chief secretary. He replied that he did not.

The judge then sought replies from the respondents, including the chief secretary, the Punjab government and the federal government, on the petition.

The petitioner had said in Gujranwala, some butchers had opened shops in a Jain temple, which was part of the architectural and cultural heritage of Pakistan.

He also said these temples were places of worship for religious minorities.

The lawyer said he had sent thousands of complaints to various authorities in this regard since 1985 but no action had been taken.

The petitioner said the Jain temple in Old Anarkali had been taken over by some land mafia that had built shops there.

He said Jain temples in other parts of Pakistan were also being desecrated.

He said many churches, pagodas, and other places of worships for non-Muslims had been encroached upon.

Jafree also asked the court to issue directions to the government to declare Bhagat Singh a national hero and order Pakistan Post to issue commemorative stamps to honour him.

He also sought directions from the court for restoration of the temples.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3^rd, 2014.