Arrests after Hindu temple set on fire in Pakistan's Karak

Police have arrested 24 people after a Hindu temple was set on fire and demolished by a mob led by supporters of a radical Islamist party in Karachi.

Karak: Pakistani police arrested 24 people in overnight raids after a Hindu temple was set on fire and demolished by a mob led by supporters of a radical Islamist party, officials said on Thursday.

The temple's destruction on Wednesday in the northwestern town of Karak also drew condemnation from human rights activists and leaders of Pakistan's minority Hindu community.

Local police said had they detained 24 people and more raids were under way to arrest radical cleric Maulana Shareef and other individuals who participated or provoked the mob to demolish the temple.

The attack happened after members of the Hindu community received permission from local authorities to renovate the temple.

Although Muslims and Hindus generally live peacefully together in Pakistan, there have been other attacks on Hindu temples in recent years.

Most of Pakistan’s minority Hindus migrated to India in 1947 when India was divided by Britain’s government.

AP