E/CN.4/1996/95/Add.1 page 11 (i) Time off for Christian employees 48. As a result of the switch-over of the weekly holiday from Sunday to Friday in government and semi-government offices and corporations in 1977, Christian employees are granted time off on Sunday after 11 a.m. with a view to enabling them to offer their prayers. (ii) Optional holiday 49. Employees belonging to minority communities are granted optional holidays liberally, to enable them to celebrate their religious holidays. (b) Places of worship 50. The Special Rapporteur was unable to obtain statistics concerning the number of places of worship and their geographical distribution. The authorities, however, said that the following measures had been introduced in favour of the places of worship of religious minorities: "A Special Fund for the Welfare and Uplift of Minorities is allocated to the minority representatives on the basis of the population of the minority community which they represent, for inter alia the following purposes: acquisition/improvement of burial places and repair/renovation of places of religious importance, development schemes (exclusively for minorities) such as improvement of graveyards, repair and renovation of places of worship. "The Evacuee Trust Property Board spends a sizeable amount on the repair/maintenance of places of worship of Hindus and Sikhs. Rs. 1.8 million have been spent for this purpose during the year 1993-94 and Rs. 4.7 million during 1994-95". 51. According to non-official sources, the Ahmadi, Christian, Hindu and Zikri minorities have suffered attacks against their places of worship initiated by Muslim extremists. Such incidents are said to be often related to specific events occurring on the international scene. After the profanation and destruction of the Babri mosque in India in December 1991, for instance, over 120 Hindu temples in Pakistan were reportedly sacked by the crowd. 52. It is reported that Christians have also incurred acts of vandalism and destruction against their places of worship, as well as attempted extortion of church properties (including cemeteries) by Muslim religious leaders. In addition, it is said that permits to build places of worship are often refused, obliging the Christian minority to request authorization for community centres (implicitly incorporating a place of worship). The access to places of worship is also reported to be obstructed by Muslim extremists, a situation which would apply specifically to the Ahmadis. 53. With regard to the attacks on Hindu temples following the destruction of the Babri mosque, the authorities have stated that steps had been taken to provide compensation and to rebuild the temples.