The incident (read barbarism) took place in Bhong town, some 60 kilometres from Rahim Yar Khan city.

In its report, the Washington Post conveniently chose to dilute the sad state of affairs for the minorities in Pakistan by putting up a generalised version that has been doing the rounds in the West and its 'liberal' media outlets.

"In general, Muslims and Hindus live peacefully in the predominantly Muslim Pakistan, but there have been attacks on Hindu temples in recent years," the WP report said. However, if the incidents over the years occurring in alarming regularity is any indication, this is a brazenly fabricated narrative.

In the recent past, Pakistan has recorded at least three other similar incidents, each starting with incitement by fanatics and ending with vandalism of properties (as a show of dominance).

According to South Asia geopolitics watchers, had the same happened in a Hindu majority country like India, the narrative would have been very different, with reports carrying obscure passages embellished with quotes from "secularists", calling out the country for its lack of empathy towards minorities.

In Rahim Yar Khan, fanatics attacked the temple enraged by a court granting bail to a nine-year old Hindu boy, who had allegedly urinated in a local seminary last month. The attackers also blocked the Sukkur-Multan Motorway (M-5) for more than three hours in protest, forcing the district administration to deploy rangers in the area.

In its report, local Dawn News said: "Sources said on the complaint of a cleric, Hafiz Muhammad Ibrahim, of Darul Uloom Arabia Taleemul Quran, the Bhong police had registered a case against the boy under section 295-A of the Pakistan Penal Code on July 24.

"They said some Hindu elders did tender an apology to the seminary administration saying the accused was a minor and mentally challenged. But, when a lower court granted him bail a few days ago, some people incited the public in the town on Wednesday and got all shops there closed in protest."

Even though the situation was brought under control by law enforcement, there were complaints of alleged late response by the police authorities.

According to local sources, senior officials were busy attending the police martyrs’ day ceremonies.

Quoting officials, Dawn said the boy has been sent to the Rahim Yar Khan district jail for security reasons.

"The district and sessions court had granted bail to the boy four days ago. The Rais family, according to him, had settled the issue amicably, but a local from the Sumro tribe ran a campaign against the minority community on social media which ultimately caused the unrest," the report read.

The mob also tried to attack Hindu houses, the report added.

Earlier this year, In March, a 100-year-old Hindu temple at Purana Qila was vandalised by unidentified attackers in Rawalpindi. A similar incident had taken place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Karak district in December last year. According to reports, 14 people were arrested for the misdeed.

In January 2020, four minor boys were arrested for allegedly vandalising the Mata Deval Bhittani temple in a village near Thar's Chhachro town.

In most of these cases, the arrested people are often minorities, who get bail after sometime, thus leading to zero accountability.

Following one such attack, the Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri termed the act "a conspiracy against sectarian harmony", adding that such attacks were un-Islamic in nature.

"Protection of religious freedom of minorities is our religious, constitutional, moral and national responsibility," he added and that is where the preaching ends. The practice, however, skirts around anything and everything 'un-Islamic'.

Last month, Pakistan President Dr Arif Alvi termed an incident- a video of which showed a Muslim man forcing a Hindu minor boy to chant Allahu Akbar- as an isolated occurrence. It spoke volumes about Pakistan's treatment of its minorities, one that is fraught with indifference.