Pakistan: Hindu temple land in Punjab illegally occupied, plaza construction underway, alleges PPP leader

A senior leader of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party has accused a top bureaucrat in Punjab province of facilitating the illegal occupation of land belonging to a Hindu temple. PPP leader Nadeem Afzal Chan, in a video posted on X, alleged that land owned by the Sanatan Dharam Mandir in Bhalwal — about 250 km from Lahore — has been encroached upon at the behest of Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman. He also claimed that several acres of Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) land in Bhera and Kot Momin, both in Sargodha district, have been taken over by the chief secretary’s nephews. Chan urged Zaman to act against the alleged land grabbers if his name was being misused. The chief secretary has not commented on the matter.The ETPB looks after the holy places of minorities in Pakistan.“I have spoken to many bureaucrats who told me that the nephews of the chief secretary are involved in occupying the temple's land in these three areas. All are naming two lawmakers who happen to be nephews of the chief secretary,” he said.A source in the ETPB told PTI that the temple property had been occupied “in connivance” with some board officials, and construction of a plaza was underway. ETPB secretary Farid Iqbal said notices had been issued to those involved in the construction."The grabbers of the land have started building a plaza on it," he said.