ISLAMABAD: The Hindu community in Balochistan’s Zhob district deeply appreciated the provincial administration after it handed them back an old temple in a heartwarming gesture on Thursday.
One of the top Hindu leaders of the area said it was a great moment of excitement when a Muslim cleric invited his community members back to the 200-year-old temple by unveiling a commemorative plaque in a well-attended ceremony.
“I cannot express the happiness of my community in words,” Saleem Jan, a Hindu based in Zhob, told Arab News on phone from his hometown near the Pak-Afghan border on Friday. “It is always great to get back one’s worship place, but when an Islamic prayer leader opens it for his Hindu fellows it becomes a huge honor and a great gesture of interfaith harmony.”
He added that the event, where a local cleric, Allah Daad Kakar, handed over the temple to Hindus, was attended by officials and representatives of different political and religious parties. Deputy Commissioner Zhob Taha Saleem, who was also the chief guest at the occasion, said that the gesture was significant for several reasons.
“Balochistan is thought to be a volatile and dangerous territory, especially for the religious minorities, but different events, including this one, tell us a different story: It’s a story of a province where people are considered brothers regardless of their faith,” Saleem told Arab News, adding the second significant aspect of the development was the presence of all political parties, including Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Islam and Jamaat-e-Islami.
Saleem said a school had been set up in the temple after a chunk of Hindu population left for India in the wake of the partition of the region in 1947. “While the locals established a school in the building, they did not touch the original structure. Once again, this says a great deal about the interfaith harmony in the area,” the official said, adding the school had now been shifted to government offices meant for local administration officials.
The deputy commissioner said a plaque at the gate of the temple had 1929 written on it, implying that the temple was about 100 years old. However, the Hindu community leader, Jan, claimed it was twice as old since the gate was constructed almost a century after the temple was built in the last part of the Maratha reign.
The community, which has been using another small temple in the town for rituals and worship, urged the authorities to do more.
They noted that officials had also assured them to recover a Sikh Gurdwara in the city. “This will fulfil the dreams for around six Sikh families living here,” Jan said, adding that the Hindu community had also been deprived of the Shamshan Ghat – or the cremation ground – for over 70 years.
“A high school has been built on the Shamshan Gath,” Jan said. “Members of the Hindu community have to take their deceased family members to Quetta for cremation.”
However, he added that the local community did not want to relocate another education institution at this stage.
“We have been promised a different place for Shamshan Gath, and we are happy with that,” he said, adding his community members were also hopeful to get a residential colony.
This demonstration of interfaith harmony, he said, was not alien to the community.
“We defied terrorists by sticking together during the days of intense violence,” Jan recalled. “Hindus and Muslims in our area have been joining each other in moments of happiness and mourning. Muslims celebrate our festivals and we celebrate theirs.”
200-year-old temple returned to Hindu community in Balochistan
https://arab.news/9bvwn
200-year-old temple returned to Hindu community in Balochistan
- In a grand gesture of inter-faith harmony, a Muslim prayer leader invited Hindus back to their worship place
- Around 60 Hindu families live in the Muslim-majority district of Zhob near the Pak-Afghan border
Pakistan’s Punjab to hold Basant kite festival from Feb. 6-8 after 25-year ban
- Province to start safety antenna installation campaign on all motorbikes from tomorrow
- Basant ban began in the mid-2000s after fatal incidents involving metal-coated kite strings
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province will hold the iconic spring kite-flying Basant festival from Feb. 6-8 next year after the provincial government lifted its long-running 25-year ban earlier this month, a senior minister said on Wednesday.
The ban due to fatal kite-string accidents was lifted after the provincial administration passed the Punjab Kite Flying Ordinance 2025, marking a cautious comeback for a festival that once symbolized the arrival of spring in the region.
Basant, one of Punjab’s most celebrated cultural festivals, used to draw thousands to rooftops across Lahore and other cities. However, from 2005 onward, it was repeatedly banned after dozens of people were killed or injured by dangerous metal and chemically coated kite strings that could slash motorcyclists and pedestrians, many of them children.
Courts and provincial administrations upheld these prohibitions for years, making the revival of Basant one of Punjab’s most politically sensitive cultural decisions.
“[Chief Minister] Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif has approved the revival of our beloved Heritage Basant Festival on February 6th, 7th and 8th celebrated across Lahore after 25 years, a tradition rooted in history and admired worldwide,” Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said in a post on X.
“The Basant Ordinance 2025 will be fully enforced and implemented. Every kite string and seller registered, QR coded and monitored. Basant belongs to the people, its success is our collective responsibility.”
Aurangzeb added that a citywide campaign to install safety antennas on all motorbikes will begin tomorrow.
“Every motorbike in Lahore will have Antenna for safety before and during Basant Inshallah,” Aurangzeb added. “Safety is CM Punjab’s priority. Let every kite soar and every ride be safe together, we’ll make Lahore happy historic and secure!“
Under new regulations, the government has made it mandatory for anyone making or selling kites to register. Each kite must carry a QR code linking to the seller’s identity.
The rules also prohibit children under the age of 18 from flying kites, making their guardians responsible for any violations. Fines for minors are set at Rs 50,000 ($179) for a first offense and Rs 100,000 ($358) for a second offense. Kite flying will only be allowed with formal authorization.
In Punjab, kite flying will require permission from the deputy commissioners, and kites may only be purchased from registered vendors.
The ordinance introduces strict penalties for adults as well, including three to five years in prison and a fine of Rs 2 million ($7,160) for violations.
The government has said the new regulatory framework was intended to revive the Basant festival in a controlled and safe manner, balancing public enthusiasm for the celebration with longstanding concerns over fatal injuries caused by unsafe kite strings.
Officials say that the ordinance also aims to formalize the small but extensive economy surrounding Basant, which includes kite manufacturing, string production, dyes, paper supply, bamboo cutting, wholesalers and thousands of seasonal vendors.
For decades, this value chain has operated informally, with no licensing, safety regulations, or tax registration, generating minimal direct revenue for the provincial government.
By bringing manufacturers and sellers into a documented system through mandatory registration and QR-coded products, officials argue that the government can expand its tax base, ensure safer production standards and create more predictable business opportunities for cottage-industry workshops that rely on the Basant season for income.
