A two-member Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel heard the suo moto notice case regarding demolition of a Hindu Temple in Karak by a violent mob a few months ago. During the hearing of the case on Wednesday, the apex Court ordered to recover Rs 33 million from the accused involved in burning/demolition of the temple. The Advocate General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had informed the court that more than Rs 33 million was spent on the restoration of the temple, whereas the Chief Justice was of the view that the accused would learn a lesson when Rs 33 million were recovered from them.
In fact, the weak implementation of law and corruption in the Police Department has completely abolished the fear of punishment and rule of law among the public. The shroud individuals tactfully use the mob violence for their vested interest and try to escape the law while taking shelter of the crowd. Apparently, Police do not fix the responsibility or degree of involvement of the accused in criminal cases in a bid to provide relief to the blue eyed.
Our religion and constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan has conferred equal rights to the minorities of the country. The basic religious rights, protection of minorities, warship places, lives and properties have been guaranteed under the constitution. Therefore, it is the duty of the state machinery to take suitable measures in this regard. Unfortunately, few acts of violence against minorities have happened in various parts of the country which badly tarnished the image of the country. Attacking non-Muslims or their worship places in any garb is not a service to the religion, in fact, such incidents reflect ill mentality. The Supreme Court of Pakistan is highly admirable for taking suo Moto action the cases and rightly decided to recover the reconstruction expenses from the culprits involved in the heinous crime. It is suggestible that such criminals must be declared ineligible for any government service or public office including contest of local bodies and general election for the whole life, so this regrettable trend can be curbed permanently.
