Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s statue vandalised in Pakistan

India says such attacks create a ‘climate of fear’ among the minority communities

A nine-foot-tall bronze statue of the first ruler of the Sikh Empire, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was on Tuesday vandalised by an activist of the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) at the Lahore Fort in Pakistan’s Punjab province, according to media reports. India has slammed the act, saying Pakistan has completely failed in its duty to prevent such attacks which are creating a “climate of fear” among the minority communities. A video clip circulating on social media shows the accused chanting slogans, breaking the arm of the statue and dismantling Singh’s bust from the horse and flinging it to the ground before being pulled away by another man.