Retrieve land of temples, gurdwaras: Speaker

LAHORE:Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan has directed Minister for Minorities to retrieve land owned by temples and gurdwaras in Punjab.

During the Punjab Assembly session on Friday, the Speaker expressed serious dismay when the Minister for Minorities Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora told the House that it was a sad fact that temples and gurdwaras had been destroyed in Lahore. During the question hour session related to the Local Government and Community Development, the first-ever Sikh Minister of Pakistan's Punjab Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora told that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had granted budget for the restoration of Sikh heritage.

However, he said it was really sad that in Lahore, the temples and gurdwaras had been destroyed. The Speaker on the occasion directed the minister for minorities to get the land of temples and gurdwaras retrieved from the grabbers and assured him that entire House would side by him in this initiative.

The Speaker also directed the Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafique to address the issue of graveyards for the Christian community. He stated that special measures must be taken in this regard and graveyards for the Christian community should be set up outside the cities so that they may not face any trouble in burials.

Moreover, the LG Minister Zeeshan Rafique had to face strong criticism from the MPA of his own party Ahsan Raza Khan over the wrong information provided by the department. Ahsan Raza Khan stated what the minister had told the House about clean drinking water and streetlights was nothing but a lie. Besides, the MPAs also asked the minister to pay special focus over the cattle markets in Punjab.

Meanwhile, Punjab Assembly also passed a unanimous resolution paying tribute to Pakistan Army for defending the homeland. The resolution stated the Pakistan armed forces set a precedent of bravery on September 6, 1965. It stated the entire nation was siding with Pakistan Army.