Hindu temple vandalised in Pak, PM Imran Khan orders swift action
Islamabad/Karachi, Feb 7: A Hindu temple was vandalised in Pakistan's Sindh province by miscreants who set the holy books and idols on fire, drawing a strong reaction from Prime Minister Imran Khan who ordered swift and decisive action against the perpetrators.
The incident happened last week in Kumb, a town in Khairpur district. The unidentified assailants fled the after vandalism.
Khan Tuesday night took to Twitter to call upon the provincial authorities to take swift action against the culprits.
"The govt of Sindh must take swift and decisive action against the perpetrators. This is against the teachings of the Quran," Khan said.
The community has approached the police to register a case against unidentified persons.
There was no caretaker at the temple because the community felt that it was safe enough, since it was surrounded by their houses.
After the incident, the Hindus in the area held a protest in the city, Samaa TV reported.
Rajesh Kumar Hardasani, the adviser of the Pakistan Hindu Council, has demanded the formation of a special task force for the security of Hindu temples.
"This action has caused unrest among the Hindu community. These types of attacks are done in an attempt to disturb religious harmony across the country," he said.
Police said that they were hunting for the attackers but so far no arrest was made. Nobody or group took responsibility of the attack.
Hindus form almost two per cent 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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Russia, China object to US UNSC Presidency's Programme of Work over Iran
United Nations (PTI): In a development highlighting polarisation in the UN Security Council, the monthly programme of work for the US Presidency of the powerful UN organ could not be adopted after Russia and China raised objections concerning Iran.
The United States, a veto-wielding permanent member, assumed the Presidency of the 15-nation UN Security Council for the month of March. As is customary, a monthly programme of work that outlines the Council’s anticipated meetings and events for the month is adopted by the UN body at the commencement of the Presidency.
The Council President then briefs the media in the UN headquarters on the UNSC programme of work and agenda for the month.
However, the US-drafted programme of work for its monthly presidency of the Council could not be adopted on Monday after the other veto-wielding permanent members Russia and China raised objections pertaining to the 1737 Sanctions Committee concerning Iran.
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“Russia & China objected to the adoption of the US-drafted UNSC PoW (Programme of Work) for March,” Russia’s Permanent Mission to the UN said.
“We were compelled to take this step because the provisional programme of work proposed by the US included a briefing on the work of the 1737 Sanctions Committee concerning Iran, whose work was allegedly resumed in September 2025 following the triggering by the UK, France, and Germany of the “snapback” mechanism to reimpose the anti-Iranian Security Council resolutions,” Russia said.
“In February, we once again brought our position on this matter to the attention of our US colleagues, urging them to refrain from including such an event in the provisional programme of work. Unfortunately, our appeal remained unheeded. For this very reason, we had no other choice but to object to the adoption of the UNSC programme of work for March,” it said.
The UN Security Council had in 2015 adopted a resolution that implemented the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) concerning Iran's nuclear programme. In August 2020, the United States invoked the resolution's "snapback" mechanism, under which the Security Council can reimpose UN sanctions.
Last year, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom (UK) (collectively known as the "E3") invoked the snapback mechanism, which resulted in the sanctions being reimposed on Iran on September 27, 2025 “based on Iran’s continuing “significant non-performance” of its nuclear commitments.”
In the wake of the failure of the adoption of its monthly Programme of Work, the US released its “Plan of Work” outlining the Council’s anticipated meetings and events for the month.
A press conference by the US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz to brief members of the media on the Programme of Work, initially scheduled for March 3, was also cancelled.
Council Presidents traditionally host about two signature events during their presidency. The first signature event by the US was a briefing on March 2 titled “Children, Technology, and Education in Conflict” under agenda item “Maintenance of international peace and security” which was presided over by First Lady Melania Trump, a history-making event since it was the first time ever that the spouse of a world leader chaired a UNSC meeting.
The second signature event that the US is expected to host will be a briefing on ‘Energy, critical minerals, and security’.
The US took over the UNSC gavel just a day after it, along with Israel, launched military strikes against Iran, killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior leaders. Tehran launched retaliatory attacks against American and Israeli targets in West Asia, a region that is now plunged in a devastating war that is impacting millions of civilians.
