ISLAMABAD: Indian social media users have claimed that to make room for a coffee house for soldiers, the Pakistani government intends to demolish the Sharda Peeth temple, which serves as a meeting place for the Hindu population in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The claim is untrue.
Claim
A user on X, formerly known as Twitter, wrote on November 28, “Pakistan destroying ‘Sharda Peeth’ temple in Pakistan’s Kashmir to build a coffee house for soldiers: Reports.”
The post was viewed over 48,500 times on X, reposted 481 times, and liked 1,420 times at the time of writing.
Pakistan destroying ‘Sharda Peeth’ in PoK to build a coffee house for soldiershttps://t.co/Wm336HEneh pic.twitter.com/hCnA8TYRb1
— Indian Defence Forum (@defenceforum) November 30, 2023
PAKISTAN trying to be smarter to build their shitty coffee houses for their bullshit army by demolishing a UNESCO Heritage Site and Religious Figure of Sharda Peeth.
Will love pakistan if they show this smartness to pay off their loans.#Shardapeeth#Pakistan #UNESCO#India pic.twitter.com/H712iKlm68
— Ranjit Rajput (@ranjeetspeakout) December 6, 2023
According to a different post on X, the Sharda Peeth temple’s land had been taken by the Pakistani army, who then used it to construct a coffee shop.
Fact
Officials and Hindu community members confirm that there are no plans to demolish the ancient Sharda Peeth temple in Neelum Valley, nor are there any intentions to construct a café in its place.
In a statement to a private news channel, Dr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, the patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council, conveyed that the secretary and minister for culture in Azad Jammu and Kashmir have recently affirmed that there are no intentions to demolish the temple.
He said, “There is no coffee house or anything being constructed there, but I have heard of a road being built in that area, due to which there may have been some modality changes to the temple. I have not seen the site physically, so I cannot confirm it.”
Meanwhile, Raja Arif Mehmood, the Deputy Commissioner in Neelum Valley, rejected the claims as “fake news.”
Mahvash Haider Ali, the national information officer at the United Nations in Islamabad, said, “As per our information, the site [temple] is as it was,” she said via messages to the news channel.
