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Destruction of Buddhist sites in Pakistan angers Sri Lanka
20 Sep, 2021
The destruction of a number of Buddhist heritage sites in Pakistan has angered Sri Lanka, the ANI news service reported.
According to ANI, Buddhist carvings and stupas and statues of Buddha, especially in Swat valley, have been demolished.
The news service also reported that a Chinese funded Diamer-Bhasha dam project – cum hydropower plant will cause the destruction of a whopping 30,000 raw carvings and scriptures of Buddhist origin in the Gilgit-Baltistan area of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
In 2020, a 1,700-year-old statue was demolished by a few Pakistanis in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the north-western province of Pakistan.
The desecration of the statue was filmed on a mobile phone. The video of the demolition went viral on social media.
While civil activists and human rights activists expressed concerns, many Pakistani nationals supported the unfortunate act. Rawalpindi resident Umer Usmani hailed the desecration act by linking it with the teachings of Islam.
Pakistani President Dr Arif Alvi had recently sought to build relations with Sri Lankan when he met a delegation of Sri Lankan Buddhist monks in Islamabad and spoke about religious tourism as an excellent platform to strengthen ties. (Courtesy ANI)
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