Punjab Minister for Minorities Affairs Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora has announced that, under the directives of Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif, restoration work on the 900-year-old Shiwala Teja Singh Temple in Sialkot will soon begin.
He said that a team from the Walled City of Lahore Authority would soon visit the site to initiate the restoration process at the earliest.
The minister expressed these views while distributing Diwali grant cheques and gifts among members of the Hindu community at the Shiwala Teja Singh Temple.
Addressing the gathering, Arora said that along with the Shiwala Teja Singh Temple, the Khu of Puran Bhagat — another centuries-old sacred site for Hindu and Sikh communities — was also being restored. He said the Punjab government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, was taking comprehensive measures for the welfare and development of minority communities and ensuring their full participation in social and religious life.
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He added that the Chief Minister, cabinet members, and senior officials regularly take part in minority festivals to promote religious harmony and inclusivity. The minister emphasized that the Punjab government is committed to providing equal opportunities for all citizens, enabling every community to contribute to Pakistan’s progress and prosperity.
Arora reaffirmed that, under the Constitution of Pakistan, all minorities are equal citizens. He recalled Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s historic speech of August 11, 1947, in which he declared that all Pakistanis are free to worship and equal in the eyes of the state.
