'Pakistan failing to protect minorities,' says Arvinder Lovely after Gurdwara demolition

India, July 3 -- Chairman of the Trans-Yamuna Area Development Board, Sardar Arvinder Singh Lovely, on Thursday condemned the demolition of a more than 100-year-old Gurdwara in Pakistan, alleging that the neighbouring country has failed to protect its minority communities and their places of worship. In a statement, Lovely said, "Pakistan pretends to be the saviour of minorities across the world, yet minorities and their religious places in its own country are not safe." He described the demolition as an attack on the rights and religious sentiments of minority communities and said such actions deserved the strongest condemnation.

He also welcomed the response of the Central Government, saying the Modi government had acted promptly by taking cognisance of the incident. According to Lovely, the government conveyed a strong message to Pakistan and urged it to reconstruct the demolished Gurdwara. Highlighting the heritage aspect of the issue, Lovely said the demolition was also contrary to international heritage protection norms. "What has happened in Pakistan is also a violation of UNESCO norms," he said. Explaining his remarks, Lovely stated that, under UNESCO guidelines, it is the responsibility of every country to preserve religious sites that are more than 100 years old. He added that any alteration or demolition of the original structure of such heritage sites amounts to a violation of these norms.

Lovely further alleged that this was not an isolated incident, claiming Pakistan had previously interfered with religious places belonging to minority communities. He said such actions repeatedly hurt the religious sentiments of minorities and reflected the country's failure to safeguard its religious and cultural heritage. The statement comes amid concerns over the reported demolition of the century-old Gurdwara in Pakistan, with the issue drawing criticism from political leaders in India and renewed calls for the protection and restoration of religious heritage sites.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.