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Sealing of cemetery frustrates Hindus in Lahore

06:38 PM | 22 Aug, 2015
Sealing of cemetery frustrates Hindus in Lahore
LAHORE (Ihsan Qadir) - Local Hindus are forced to not lay their dead ones to rest close to their homes as land mafia in Lahore sealed a centuries old cemetery of Hindus before its inauguration, News Lens Pakistan reported.

Following the petition from Hindu representatives, the Supreme Court of Pakistan had ordered the provincial government of Punjab in August 2012 to get land vacated from the mafia.

The court also ordered the authorities to construct a graveyard on 14,200 square feet of land for the Hindus by December 25, 2013.

The provincial authorities completed the work in May 2014 but it has not been inaugurated yet, resulting in irritation among Hindu communities.

Amarnath Randhawa, the President of Hindu Sudhra Sabha, an NGO which works for the rights of the Hindus, expressed extreme frustration due to the sealing of the graveyard by the administration yielding to land mafia’s tactics. “Our community is at a loss as to burial of their dead ones.

We got cemetery after 25-year long legal battle in different courts against land mafia and finally the Supreme Court gave decision in our favor.

We completed arrangements for inauguration on May 24. But, land mafia brought goons at the night between May 23 and May 24 and forced us to stop inauguration of graveyard”.

He added, “The mafia named a grave of Muslim saint Baba Haveli Shah and pasted slate of his name on the grave. They instigated goons that Hindus desecrated the grave of the saint. Consequently, since then, we wrote applications to from President of Pakistan to higher authorities of local government but to no avail.”

According to Pakistan Balmik Sabha, an NGO that works for Hindus’ rights, around 230,000 Hindus live in Pakistan while Hindu population in Lahore is 400.

A local Hindu Sameer, 24, a student of Computer Science in Government College University told News Lens Pakistan that the mafia had deprived them of the facility of having a cemetery.

“Our parents are extremely worried about burial. We are Pakistanis since generations and we should be given our right of burial in Lahore.”

Talking to News Lens Pakistan, 81-year-old Heera Lal could not express his feelings in words.

‘I was born in Lahore and want to die in Lahore. The government should give us this fundamental right.”

On the other hand, Abdul Salam, who was named a land grabber in Supreme Court verdict believes that the cemetery adjacent to Christian, Muslim and Bahai graveyards did not belong to the Hindus.

“It was part of common graveyard which Hindu land grabber mafia, led by Amarnath Randhawa, is trying to occupy.

They desecrated the grave of Muslim saint Baba Haveli Shah by declaring him a Hindu and pasting a slate namely Baba Haveli Ram, a Hindu name which angered Muslims.

That’s why we being local politicians interfered and stopped inauguration of the graveyard,” Salam said during a telephonic conversation with News Lens Pakistan.

Salam said he supported Hindus for the graveyard as it was being built on Supreme Court’s orders.

But, he will not allow desecration of Muslim saint’s grave inside the cemetery, which was part of the common graveyard before Supreme Court’s ruling.

During a telephonic interview, Assistant Commissioner of Shalimar Town said he was in favor of the inauguration of Hindus cemetery on legal and moral grounds, but, Muslims are very angry therefore the local authorities can could not do anything for now however, this issue will be resolved soon.

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Rupee remains stable against US dollar, Euro, Pound, Dirham and Riyal; check forex rates

Pakistani rupee remained stable against US dollar in the open bank market on Friday.

Dollar Rate in Pakistan Today

On Friday, the US dollar was being quoted at 285.3 for buying and 288.15 for selling.

Euro moves down to 311 for buying and 314 for selling. British Pound rate stands at 358.5 for buying, and 361.5 for selling.

UAE Dirham AED stands at 78 whereas the Saudi Riyal rate stands at 76.20.

Today's currency exchange rates in Pakistan – 1 December 2023

Currency Symbol Buying Selling
US Dollar ‎USD 285.3 288.15
Euro EUR 311 314
UK Pound Sterling GBP 358.5 361.5
U.A.E Dirham AED 78 78.7
Saudi Riyal SAR 76.2 77
Australian Dollar AUD 187.2 189
Bahrain Dinar BHD 759.67 767.67
Canadian Dollar CAD 209 211
China Yuan CNY 39.59 39.98
Danish Krone DKK 41.38 41.78
Hong Kong Dollar HKD 36.63 36.98
Indian Rupee INR 3.39 3.5
Japanese Yen JPY 1.49 1.56
Kuwaiti Dinar KWD 926.7 935.7
Malaysian Ringgit MYR 60.38 60.98
New Zealand Dollar NZD 173.44 175.44
Norwegians Krone NOK 26.25 26.55
Omani Riyal OMR 741.26 749.26
Qatari Riyal ‎QAR 77.63 78.33
Singapore Dollar SGD 211 213
Swedish Korona SEK 26.93 27.23
Swiss Franc CHF 325.9 328.4
Thai Bhat THB 8.23 8.38

Gold rates drop in Pakistan; Check today’s gold rates 1 December 2023

KARACHI – The gold price continues to climb up in the local market in line of upward trend in international market.

Gold Rates in Pakistan Today - 1 December 2023

On Thursday, the single tola of 24 Karat gold was available at Rs217,400, and the price for 10-gram gold reached Rs186,390.

Meanwhile, the 22 Karat Gold price stands at Rs199,282, 21 karat rate for each tola is Rs190,225 and 18k gold rate hovers around Rs163,050.

In international market, the price of precious metal hovers around $2,045 per ounce.

Today Gold Rate in Pakistan

City Gold Silver
Lahore PKR 217,400 PKR 2,696
Karachi PKR 217,400 PKR 2,696
Islamabad PKR 217,400 PKR 2,696
Peshawar PKR 217,400 PKR 2,696
Quetta PKR 217,400 PKR 2,696
Sialkot PKR 217,400 PKR 2,696
Attock PKR 217,400 PKR 2,696
Gujranwala PKR 217,400 PKR 2,696
Jehlum PKR 217,400 PKR 2,696
Multan PKR 217,400 PKR 2,696
Bahawalpur PKR 217,400 PKR 2,696
Gujrat PKR 217,400 PKR 2,696
Nawabshah PKR 217,400 PKR 2,696
Chakwal PKR 217,400 PKR 2,696
Hyderabad PKR 217,400 PKR 2,696
Nowshehra PKR 217,400 PKR 2,696
Sargodha PKR 217,400 PKR 2,696
Faisalabad PKR 217,400 PKR 2,696
Mirpur PKR 217,400 PKR 2,696

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