ISLAMABAD: After a lull of almost a year, the Hindu community in Pakistan has once again been targeted by extremists as a number of unidentified persons committed arson on Krishna Temple in a small town called Kumb, in the district of Khairpur (Sindh).

The incident that took place on February 3 has sent shock waves among the local Hindus and sparked condemnation countrywide.

A number of local Hindu community members, men, women and children, on Wednesday staged protest demonstration in front of the temple calling for arrest and exemplary punishment to the attackers.

In the said attack, not only statues of Krishna and some rare pictures were partially damaged by the hooligans, Hindus’ holy books Geeta and Garanth Sahib were also desecrated.

Talking to Gulf News, Hindu rights activist and a minority representative Pandit Hari Ram said the attack took place Sunday evening at a time when the temple’s doors were open and the local pandit (priest) was not present inside the temple.

The attackers entered the temple and threw away the statues of the Hindu deity Krishna and tore off holy books, said Pandit Hari Ram.

The news of the attack infuriated the local population, including Hindus and Muslims, and they rushed to the site and demanded of the government of Sindh as well as the federal government to carry out a thorough investigation into the incident that had sparked agony and fear among the religious minority.

Hindu rights activist and local representative Kapil Dev termed the incident an unfortunate one.

“Although Prime Minister Imran Khan in his twitter message has condemned the incident and directed the Sindh government to swiftly nab the culprits, yet such incidents generate feeling of alienation among the religious minorities,” said Kapil Dev, adding the government needed to address the root cause so that such incidents are not repeated.

Khairpur is a prominent district of North Sindh and a home to former Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah and his daughter MNA Nafeesa Shah.

SSP Khairpur, Ummar Tufail and Nawab Khan Wassan, political assistant to the Sindh CM, have assured the protesters of an independent investigation into the incident and expressed their resolve to arrest the culprits and bring them to justice.

The Khairpur Police at the Kumb Police Station registered an FIR against unidentified miscreants.

The SHO of the police station later told Gulf News that the fingerprints of the miscreants were collected from the crime scene and sent for forensic investigations.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has also ordered an investigation into the attack on a Hindu temple. Khan, in his twitter message, condemned the incident and directed the provincial government to take swift and decisive action against the perpetrators of the attack, which was “against the teachings of Quran”.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Human Rights has also constituted a seven-member parliamentary committee to probe the temple blaze.