Spiritual journey: 702nd urs of Shah Rukne Alam ends

Devotees pray for the people of Thar desert

MULTAN: The people of Thar desert have not been given the amount of humanitarian or government aid necessary to help them through the drought, Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi, caretaker of the shrine of Hazrat Shah Rekne Alam, said at a national conference on the concluding day of the urs on Tuesday.

He said that even though the federal and provincial governments had announced special aid packages for the people of Thar desert, nearly 150 children there had died in the last two months.

The zaireen (pilgrims) prayed for the children of Thar in the concluding ceremony.

The urs opened on Sunday to an attendance of thousands of devotees who had travelled from all over the country to pay their respects to the saint.

Ali Sikandar Bodla, from Sahiwal, said that the district police had done a good job of ensuring security at the shrine. He appreciated the organisers for taking stringent security measures and making complete arrangements for devotees from other districts.

Asad Mehmood Naqshbandi had travelled from the shrine of Ghamkol Shareef in Kohat with 50 devotees to participate in the concluding day festivities.

He said the national conference organised on the last day of the urs provided followers of all Sufi teachers in the country a chance to get together and share their vision for a peaceful and loving society.

Farkhanda Butt from Azad Kashmir said she had travelled with her family to attend the urs. “It is an honour to be able to attend the last prayers of the urs.”

She said that she had paid her respects at all the major shrines in Multan district.

“This place is rightly called Madinatul Auliya,” she said. “I visited 14 shrines located within 2kms radius of Shah Rukne Alam shrine.”

Strict security arrangements had been made for the three days of the urs. More than 500 policemen and 200 volunteers were deputed at various points around the shrine. Walk-through gates were installed for all devotees to pass through.

The Health Department had also set up a polio vaccination camp at the shrine. Amber, a polio worker, said they had vaccinated scores of children under the age of five years at the camp.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 17^th, 2016.