Pakistan: Peshawar High Court Stays Archaeological Department’s Order To Vacate Hindu Religious Site Panj Tirath

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province’s archaeology department has been stopped from vacating Panj Tirath by the orders of Peshawar High Court, Pakistan. The Panj Tirath is a Hindu religious site recently declared as the national heritage by the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunwa.

According to Deputy Director, Evacuee Property Trust Board (EPTB), Peshawar, Humayun Khan, the provincial archaeology department gave a prior notice for vacating the national heritage site. EPTB, which manages the shrines of Hindus and Sikhs, challenged the notice in the court, alleging that Panj Tirath is a property of the EPTB.

The decision given by Peshawar High Court comes post-EPTB’s challenge to the notice as reported by Tribune India.

The name of ‘Panj Tirath’ is derived from the five pools of water present there. The site also contains a temple and a lawn with date palm trees. It is believed that Pandu, a king in Mahabharata epic used to come to these pools in the month of Karteek to bathe and worship for two days under the trees.

The site was damaged in the reign of Afghan Durrani dynasty in 1747. Although, local Hindus restored it during the period of Sikh rule in 1834