Amid opposition to an attempt to demolish a 200-year-old Hindu temple in Pakistan, the temple has been sealed.
The nearly 200-year-old Ram Leela Hindu temple is located in Dera Ismail Khan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan.
An attempt was made there to demolish this historically significant temple and build a commercial complex. Hindus and social activists in the area protested against this. Following this, officials sealed the temple with the intervention of the Evacuee Trust Property Board.
It is said that the temple was sealed after the local government administration officially took it under its control.
The temple is located in Rahim Bazaar in the central area of Dera Ismail Khan district. While some people were engaged in demolishing the temple there, local residents who opposed it stopped them.
Following this, the sealing action was taken. This new controversy has arisen amid growing concerns over the safety and rights of minorities living in Pakistan.
The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) is a government body of Pakistan. This organization is responsible for maintaining the properties left behind by people who migrated to India after the 1947 India-Pakistan partition, as well as the trust properties of minority communities. This organization oversees many Hindu and Sikh shrines.
In Dera Ismail Khan district, around 400 buildings have been identified under this organization as cultural heritage properties. Among them is this Ram Leela temple.
Social activists and representatives of the Hindu community, who opposed the attempt to demolish the temple, jointly demanded an inquiry into the temple’s ownership details and the legality of the construction of the commercial complex said to be built there. At the same time, they have also urged that this issue be raised in the Pakistani Parliament.
With governor’s rule currently in effect in the province, Haroon Sarab Dyal, head of the All Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement, has expressed confidence that Hindu religious sites will receive special protection. Dyal also called for a thorough investigation into religious properties that are alleged to have been illegally occupied or sold from 2013 to 2026.
The Ram Leela temple is seen by locals as part of the historical heritage of Dera Ismail Khan district. An earlier attempt to build a commercial complex here was also abandoned following opposition from residents of the area.
According to Pakistan’s Department of Archaeology, this district and the surrounding areas are home to many historically significant Hindu religious and archaeological sites dating from the 7th century to the early 11th century.
In this region, law and order deteriorated severely because the provincial government, run by the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, failed to cooperate with counterterrorism operations. Citing this, the Pakistani government imposed governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from Oct. 11, which is noteworthy.
The Pakistan Human Rights Commission has urged greater transparency in the operations of the ETPB. At the same time, it has also recommended reforms to make the body representative of minority communities.
In a report released a few days ago, the commission noted that minorities continue to face violations of their fundamental rights, misuse of blasphemy laws, forced marriages, religious conversions, and discriminatory practices.
In the report titled “Sanctuary Denied: Freedom of Religion or Belief in 2025/26”, it highlights the plight of Hindu and Christian women facing abduction and forced marriages, discrimination in employment, and the issues of marginalized minorities.
