Hindu temple vandalized in Pak, Hindu families saved by Muslims from angry attackers
Karachi: A Hindu temple in Pakistan's Sindh province was vandalized by an angry mob that also attempted to attack over 300 Hindu families but were stopped by Muslims from entering the century-old neighborhood, a media report said on Wednesday.
The incident took place on Sunday in Sheetal Das compound, housing 300 Hindu and 30 Muslim families.
Residents of the neighborhood said that scores of men had assembled outside the compound's only gate and many of them intended to attack the Hindu families.
However, the Muslim families, residing in and around the compound, were quick to reach the gate and stop the mob from entering the area.
"Police, too, reached the spot within a few minutes after they were informed," a Hindu man, requesting anonymity, told The Express Tribune.
Another Hindu man said: "Some of the angry men had managed to reach the temple and tried to vandalize it".
They wanted to attack the compound's Hindu families, but the police foiled their attempt. However, other eyewitnesses, said that three pre-partition idols were destroyed during the episode, the report said.
"I never felt that fearful," said a teary-eyed resident, while sharing the ordeal.
An official from the police also confirmed that it was the Muslim families of the area whose resilience stopped the mob attack on the minority Hindu community.
"Had it not been for the Muslim families, it would have been very difficult to thwart the attack," said the senior police official.
Following the incident, over 60 Hindu families had shifted to other areas of the city by Tuesday.
"The fear still lingers and the people have left their homes and shifted women and children to locations they deem safe," said a resident.
One of the elders from the Hindu community, who has lived all his life in that compound, said that he "had never seen an attack of the sort as the one he witnessed on Sunday".
Hindus form almost two percent of the 220 million population in Muslim-majority Pakistan. Most of the Hindus live in Sindh province.
They often complain of harassment by the extremists.
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Rupee rises 6 paise to 89.92 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee witnessed range-bound trade in the morning session on Friday, appreciating by 6 paise to 89.92 against the US dollar as thin liquidity conditions accentuated everyday demand-supply imbalances, keeping the rupee tilted toward weakness.
Forex traders said the USD/INR pair is expected to trade in a narrow range as the 90 level is being protected by the Reserve Bank of India.
Moreover, the support from positive domestic equities was offset by sustained foreign fund outflows.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 89.95 against the US dollar, then gained some ground and touched 89.92, rising by six paise from its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee depreciated 10 paise to close at 89.98 against the US dollar.
"Unless RBI comes and sells dollars heavily, the movement is going to be in small ranges as seen in the last three sessions. The pair is seen in a holding pattern between 89.80 and 90, considering the narrow range," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
Bhansali further noted that corporate demand, FPI demand, and government demand have been the salient features of the rupee over the past year, during which it fell by more than 5 per cent and became the worst-performing Asian currency, though partly protected by the RBI.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading marginally down by 0.15 per cent at 98.17.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.38 per cent higher at USD 61.08 per barrel in futures trade.
"With early-year liquidity still thin and domestic fundamentals offering a mixed but stable backdrop, the rupee appears set to remain range-bound in the near term. As long as USD/INR stays below the 90 handle, the balance of risks tilts mildly in favour of the rupee," CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari said, adding that against this backdrop, USD/INR is expected to trade in a 89.30–90.20 range.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex climbed 158.19 points to 85,346.79 in early trade, while the Nifty was up 55.8 points to 26,202.35.
Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 3,268.60 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
On the domestic macroeconomic front, gross GST collections rose 6.1 per cent to over Rs 1.74 lakh crore in December 2025, on slow growth in revenues from domestic sales following the sweeping tax cuts, according to government data released on Thursday.
Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue in December 2024 was over Rs 1.64 lakh crore.
