CII's advice sought on construction of temple with government fund.

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Wednesday sought Council of Islamic Ideology's advice on issuance of government funds for construction of temple in the federal capital.

In a letter written to the CII, the ministry asked whether government funds could be used for the construction of new worship place for minorities or not.

The letter says that the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had allotted a four-kanal plot for construction of a Hindu temple in Sector H-9/2, Islamabad, on Dec 26, 2017. On Dec 10, 2019 the Ministry of Religious Affairs had received an application from Islamabad Hindu Panchiyat to fund the construction of new temple. Parliamentary Secretary Ministry of Human Rights Lal Chand Malhi and some minority legislators had also requested the ministry to allocate funds for construction of the temple.

The ministry distributes funds for repair and maintenance of worship places from its Minority Welfare Fund on recommendation of minority legislators. But the construction of new worship places for minorities is not permissible under the rules. Due to non-provision in rules for new construction, the application was forwarded to Prime Minister's Office for consideration. The advice of CII is being sought on the objection of ulema and religious scholars that the new temple can't be built with public money.

Meanwhile, CII Chairman Dr Kibla Ayaz has directed the CII's research wing to finalise its recommendations after deliberations. The session of the CII will be summoned in September for giving opinion on the issue. He also asked ulema and religious scholars to send their arguments to the CII.

Meanwhile, Minister of Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri on Wednesday, commenting on the construction of a Hindu temple in the capital, said that there is 'no question' about its construction and the real issue is whether or not it could be built using public funds. Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, he said there has been a lot of talk on the issue recently. "There is no need to debate on the rights of minorities as they are protected by the PTI...