Pakistan’s government has granted the permission for construction of a Hindu temple in Islamabad nearly six months after the work at the site was halted. The construction of the temple was apparently stopped after pressure from the radical Islamic groups. 

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) issued a notification in Lahore on Monday allowing the construction of the boundary wall for cremation ground for the Hindu community in sector H-9/2, Islamabad, reported PTI. 

“It may either be a solid wall, or up to one foot it shall consist of solid masonry and remaining portion may be of light material such as fence etc. The height of the enclosure shall not be less than 3’-0’ in any case,” a notification by the CDA says, as reported by PTI.

Citing legal reasons, the CDA has stopped the construction of the boundary wall in July. According to PTI, some hardline clerics had earlier warned the government not to allow the construction of the temple in Islamabad.

In October, the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) that advises the government on religious issues, said that there are no constitutional or Sharia restrictions on the construction of a temple after Religious Affairs Minister Pir Noorul Haq Qadri had forwarded the matter to it for its advice along with a summary for grant of Rs 100 million to the prime minister for construction of the building.

The decision, signed by 14 CII members, added that Hindus, like all other religious groups in the country, have the constitutional right to a place for last rites according to their faith.

As per plans, the Krishna temple will come up in a 20,000 sq ft plot in the capital’s H-9 administrative division.

The plot for the first Hindu temple in Islamabad was allotted to the Hindu Panchayat by the CDA in 2017.