Pakistan has launched a new residential facility for Hindu pilgrims from India visiting the sacred Katas Raj temple twice a year, in a move aimed at promoting interfaith peace. The facility, inaugurated on Thursday by Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Chaudhry Salik Hussain, consists of 36 rooms with attached bathrooms, a kitchen, and a dining hall, built at a cost of Rs183.510 million over 22 months.
During the inauguration, Salik Hussain expressed surprise that only 200 pilgrims from India are allowed to visit the site, despite its significance as a sacred place for Hindus. He pledged to work towards increasing the number of pilgrims allowed to visit Katas Raj, emphasizing the need for greater interfaith harmony between the two nations. The new residential blocks will not only accommodate Indian pilgrims but also Hindus from Pakistan and other tourists, who previously stayed at a nearby college.
The move comes as part of ongoing efforts to enhance the religious exchange between Pakistan and India. Under current agreements, only 200 Hindu pilgrims from India can visit Katas Raj twice a year, while the same number of Pakistani Muslims are allowed to visit the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, India. However, discussions are ongoing to increase these numbers.
In addition to the pilgrimage facility, Salik Hussain and officials from the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) raised concerns about the cement plants in the area extracting groundwater, which has led to a significant reduction in the water level of the Katas Raj pond, a key feature of the temple. Despite a Supreme Court ruling banning the extraction of groundwater, the plants have continued to extract it, leaving the pond dangerously dry in recent years. Salik Hussain vowed to address the issue to protect this sacred site.
