Islamabad, July 13 -- Criticising those who were making the issue controversial, the Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) has announced support for the construction of a temple in Islamabad.

Pakistan's daily Dawn has quoted Hafiz Mohammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, the chairman of PUC as saying: "We denounce the controversy over construction of the temple. This [making it controversial] by extremist clerics is not correct. PUC will call a meeting and will also present its point of view to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII)."

Defining the rights of Muslims and non-Muslims living in the country, Hafiz Ashrafi said as per the Constitution of Pakistan all non-Muslims have the right to own place of worship and lead a life as per their faith and tradi...