Peshawar:
Although the worrying incidents of religious intolerance reported on both sides of the Indo-Pak border highlight the worst side of humanity, a strange street in Peshawar presents an image of soul of how interreligious harmony can be.
Gor Khatri’s 200 -year temple, which is regularly visited by the Hindu community, is only 50 steps from the Jama Masjid, which is frequented by Muslims five times a day for its congregational sentences.
Iqbal Awan, a 64 -year -old boy who lives near Karim Pura, the area occupied by the Hindu community, revealed that his ancestral home was located near the Gor Khatri temple.
“Throughout our businesses, we have never seen any fight or dispute near the temple or mosque. At the time of Holi or any other Hindu community festival, we allow them to use our houses for celebrations and clean the streets.
They would also participate in our EID celebrations, marriages and other occasions. The elders of the city center and the Hindu community would sit and speak, “Iqbal said.
Similarly, Asif Ramesh, a member of the Hindu community who has been living with his ancestors in Gor Khatri since the last 60 years, told Express PAkGazette that he visited the Gorakhnath temple almost every two days.
“When there is bhajan in the temple and the Azan is called from the mosque, we make adjustments as respect. Similarly, when our festival is celebrated, the Muslim community never interferes, but only offers its cooperation.
Similarly, during Ramadan, I organize the lighting in the mosques. Our worshipers cannot worship in any country or city of the world with as much freedom, peace and tranquility as they can in Pakistan, especially in KP, “said Ramesh, whose family is one of the 1,200 Hindu families residing in Peshawar.
Haroon Sarab Dayal, a scholar and social leader of the Hindu community, revealed that the old Hindu settlements and temples still exist in Abbottabad, Mansehra, Karak and Peshawar.
“The fact that these places of worship of the minority community from 250 to 300 years are still preserved today, is a solid evidence of the Hindu-Musulmano Brotherhood. Among all the cities, Peshawar offers the greatest respect and protection to its minority community. In KP, the Hindu community celebrates its festivals with complete religious freedom, something that is not found anywhere else.
Although attempts were made to disturb this peace, even today we are with the Muslim community in pain and joy, “Dayal exclaimed.
Speaking of the establishment of a mosque in front of the temple in Gor Khatri, Noor Khan, the in charge of the temple and the mosque, he told the Express PAkGazette that in 1641, during the reign of King Shah Jahan, Jahan Ara, the king’s daughter, ordered the construction of the Gor Khatri complex.
“However, more than 300 years have passed, even today everyone respects the mosque and temple. When international tourists visit Peshawar, they usually visit this old temple.
The existence of a mosque in front of this temple represents interreligious harmony and sends a positive image of our country to the world, “Khan told.
