Historic temple razed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Peshawar, April 12

A historical Hindu temple near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has been demolished and construction for a commercial complex has started at the site in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that was closed since 1947 when the original occupants migrated to India.

The ‘Khyber Temple’ was situated in the border town of Landi Kotal Bazaar in the Khyber district but had been vanishing brick by brick over the years. The construction at the site started about 10-15 days ago. Officials from various administrative departments either denied they were aware of the existence of the Hindu temple or claimed the construction was happening according to the rules.

Claiming that there was a historical temple in the main Landi Kotal Bazaar, leading tribal journalist Ibrahim Shinwari, said: “The temple was located in the centre of the Landi Kotal bazaar, which was closed in 1947.”