A life-size statue of the first ruler of the Sikh Empire Maharaja Ranjit Singh has been restored and is soon expected to be reinstalled at a safer place at Lahore Fort, months after it was last vandalised by an activist of a banned Islamist party, a media report said on Sunday.

The 9-foot statue, which is made of cold bronze, has been repaired by the Fakir Khana Museum, under the aegis of which it was originally sculpted in 2019, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

The statue, which was unveiled in June 2019, has been targeted on various occasions, the latest being in August 2021 when a member of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) broke an arm of the statue and dismantled Singh's bust from the horse.

Prior to that it was vandalised in 2019 and 2020 as well by members of religious groups who claimed Ranjit Singh's statue should not have been built as he had committed atrocities against Muslims when he was a ruler, the report said.

India had slammed the act of vandalism, saying Pakistan has completely failed in its duty to prevent such attacks which are creating a climate of fear among the minority communities.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the founder of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. The sculpture was made under the supervision of Faqir Khana Museum Director Faqir Saifuddin.

Sikh Heritage Foundation UK Director Bobby Singh Bansal, commissioned the sculpture in association with the Walled City of Lahore Authority, the report said.