Authorities in Dera Ismail Khan, a city in northwestern Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, have sealed a nearly 200-year-old Hindu temple after residents and civil society groups objected to plans to pull it down. The Ram Leela Temple, on Rahim Bazaar, was taken into the custody of the local administration on Saturday. The ETPB, which looks after evacuee property and assets held in trust for minority faiths, then sealed the building, officials said.
Residents and activists push back
Local people moved to halt the work earlier this week after learning that workers were trying to bring the structure down. Sohail Ahmed Azmi, who heads the Dera Civil Society group and the local traders' association, said he went to the site with other residents once he heard about it. He said a man there claimed to have won a contract for the demolition, but it is not yet clear from official statements who holds any such contract.
Later, Hindu residents and local activists met to voice opposition to the plan. They asked for an inquiry into who owns the property and whether the proposed commercial complex is lawful, and they urged elected lawmakers to raise the matter in the National Assembly, Pakistan's federal lower house. Civil society representatives also said an earlier plan to build a commercial plaza on the site had faced resistance from residents and traders.
Heritage sites and minority rights
The ETPB has identified about 400 properties in Dera Ismail Khan as cultural heritage sites, and the board oversees several Hindu and Sikh religious places. It also holds property left behind by families who moved to India during the 1947 Partition. The district has other historic Hindu sites, including the temple complex at Bilot Sharif, which Pakistan's archaeology authorities date from the seventh to the early 11th centuries.
The rights body HRCP has urged the ETPB to be more open and accountable, and to introduce changes so that minority communities are better represented on it. Haroon Sarab Dial, who leads the All Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement, has called for stronger protection of Hindu sites while governor's rule is in place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan put the province under governor's rule on October 11, citing a worsening law-and-order situation. It also accused the provincial government, run by the party of Imran Khan, who is in jail, of not cooperating on counterterrorism.
Dial has also asked for a full probe into religious sites that were allegedly taken over or sold unlawfully from 2013 through 2026. On Thursday, HRCP released a report titled Sanctuary Denied, which reviews freedom of religion in 2025/26. It says religious minorities still face rights violations, accusations misused under blasphemy laws, coerced marriages and conversions, and unequal treatment. The report also documents the kidnapping and forced marriage of Hindu and Christian girls, unfair job practices, and the sidelining of minority concerns.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- October 11: Pakistan placed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under governor's rule, citing law and order.
- Earlier this week: Residents halted demolition work at the Ram Leela Temple site in Dera Ismail Khan.
- Thursday: HRCP released its report on the state of religious freedom and minority rights.
- Saturday: The temple was taken into custody by the local administration and then sealed by the ETPB.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Dera Ismail Khan mein Ram Leela Temple, jo lagbhag 200 saal purana hai, residents aur civil society ke ehtijaj ke baad seal kar diya gaya hai. Is imarat ko tor kar commercial plaza banane ki koshish par sawal uthaye gaye hain. Maalkana haq aur plaza ke qanooni pehlu ki inquiry ki maang ki gayi hai, aur faisla abhi baaqi hai. Aam logon ke liye yeh khabar dikhati hai ke purane ibadatgahon aur virsat wale ilaqon ki hifazat kitni ahem hai.
