MULTAN, Pakistan: Police arrested 50 people suspected of ransacking a Hindu temple in a remote town in eastern Pakistan and were searching for another 100 suspects, police said Saturday.
The attack on a temple in the town of Bhong in Punjab province Wednesday followed the alleged desecration of a religious school by a young Hindu boy earlier in the week. The unruly mob burned down the temple’s main door and damaged statues.
Muslims and Hindus generally live peacefully in predominantly Muslim Pakistan, but there have been attacks on Hindu temples in recent years. Most of Pakistan’s minority Hindus migrated to India in 1947 when India was divided by Britain’s government.
Jam Ghaffar, the area police chief, said order was restored after the deployment of extra police and a paramilitary force and police were looking for the remaining suspects.
Ramesh Kumar, a Hindu community leader said after the attack that the initially slow response from the police had made the situation and the damages to the temple worse.
The trouble in Bhong started after a court ruling that granted bail to an 8-year-old Hindu boy who was arrested for intentionally urinating on a carpet in a school library housing religious texts. The mob alleges the boy committed blasphemy, an act punishable by the death sentence in Pakistan.
Pakistan police arrest 50 suspected of Hindu temple attack
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Pakistan police arrest 50 suspected of Hindu temple attack
- The attack on Wednesday followed the alleged desecration of a religious school by a young Hindu boy earlier in the week
- Muslims and Hindus generally live peacefully in predominantly Muslim Pakistan, but there have been attacks on Hindu temples in recent years
Customs seize narcotics, smuggled goods, vehicles worth $4.9 million in southwest Pakistan
- Customs seize 22.14 kg narcotics, consignments of smuggled betel nuts, Hino trucks, auto parts, says FBR
- Smuggled goods enter Pakistan’s Balochistan province from neighboring countries Iran and Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Customs seized narcotics, smuggled goods and vehicles worth a total of Rs1.38 billion [$4.92 million] in the southwestern Balochistan province on Tuesday, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said in a statement.
Customs Enforcement Quetta seized and recovered 22.14 kilograms of narcotics and consignments of smuggled goods comprising betel nuts, Indian medicines, Chinese salt, auto parts, a ROCO vehicle and three Hino trucks in two separate operations, the FBR said. All items cost an estimated Rs1.38 billion, it added.
Smuggled items make their way into Pakistan through southwestern Balochistan province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan.
“These operations are part of the collectorate’s intensified enforcement drive aimed at curbing smuggling and dismantling illegal trade networks,” the FBR said.
“All the seized narcotics, goods and vehicles have been taken into custody, and legal proceedings under the Customs Act 1969 have been formally initiated.”
In the first operation, customs officials intercepted three containers during routine checking at FEU Zariat Cross (ZC) area. The containers were being transported from Quetta to Pakistan’s Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, the FBR said.
The vehicles intercepted included three Hino trucks. Their detailed examination led to the recovery of the smuggled goods which were concealed in the containers.
In the second operation, the staff of the Collectorate of Enforcement Customs, Quetta, intercepted a ROCO vehicle at Zariat Cross area with the local police’s assistance.
The driver was interrogated while the vehicle was searched, the FBR said.
“During interrogation, it was disclosed that drugs were concealed inside the spare wheel at the bottom side of the vehicle,” it said.
“Upon thorough checking, suspected narcotics believed to be heroin was recovered which was packed in 41 packets, each weighing 0.54 kilograms.”
The narcotics weighed a total of 22.14 kilograms, with an estimated value of Rs1.23 billion in the international market, the FBR concluded.
“The Federal Board of Revenue has commended the Customs Enforcement Quetta team for their effective action and reiterated its firm resolve to combat smuggling, illicit trade and illegal economic activities across the country,” it said.
