New Delhi, May 02: Senior BJP leader L K Advani on Wednesday
said Pakistan should renovate Sharada Temple in the
Pak-occupied Kashmir(PoK) on the lines of Katasraj Temple near
Lahore.
During his meeting with Sardar Abdul Qayyum, the
former Prime Minister of PoK, Advani appreciated the Pakistan
government's initiative to renovate the ancient Katasraj
Temple and said "fair and just treatment" of Hindus in
Pakistan "would go a long way in smoothening the ongoing peace
process with India."
"The political leaders in Pakistan and Pak-occupied
Kashmir should urge the government to renovate the historic
Sharada Temple near Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK."
"Restoration of this temple and allowing Hindu
pilgrims to go there would be one of the confidence-building
measures between the two parts of Kashmir," he said.
Now in ruins, Sharada Temple had been a site of a
Buddhist University too in ancient times. Adi Shankaracharya
is believed to have visited "Sharada Peeth" dedicated to
Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning, during his travels across
india.
Advani told the visiting leader BJP has "taken due note"
of his recent statements calling for a peaceful resolution of
the Kashmir issue.
"Pakistan must ensure complete cessation of cross-border
terrorism aimed against India and dismantling of the
infrastructure of terrorism, both on its own soil and in
Pak-controlled territory," he told the PoK leader.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, May 02, 2007, 00:00