Army of volunteers: Pak Hyderi Scouts securing processions since 1962

Rangers provided members training in first aid and civil defence

KARACHI: Two seven-year-old cousins were among those leading the Moharram 9 procession from Nishtar Park to Hussainia Irania Imambargah in Kharadar on Tuesday.

Clad in light blue scouts uniform, Raza Abidi, holding a rope in front of the procession, told The Express Tribune that he is here to perform his duty with his cousin Abbas Abidi.

The central procession, which covers around eight kilometres, is secured by a team of 350 members from the Pak Hyderi Scouts, which have been performing the same duty since 1962.



Abbas Raza, a member of the group, said although there is no Christian or Hindu scout member in their group, they would welcome anyone from any sect or religion.

The flag bearer of the group, Syed Raza, remarked that the scouts perform their duties without any discrimination, adding that some members are as young as three years while others are as old as 70 and they all work in harmony and with respect.

Muhammad Zahid, a scout, told The Express Tribune, “Although I’m not a Shia but I’m here to perform my duties by serving humanity.” He was of the view that there is nothing better than to serve fellow human beings irrespective of their faith.

Pak Hyderi Scouts deputy chief Hassan Mehdi informed that their scouts group has been performing duties in eight cities across the country, from Skardu in the north to Mehrabpur, a small town in Sindh. He explained that they provide all the scouts with first aid and civil defense training and they perform their duties irrespective of what their beliefs are.

Mehdi remarked that this year the Rangers have also realised the importance of scouts and conducted a week-long training session for them before the start of Moharram.

“The main goal of the scouts is to help and assist the government’s security agencies,” he explained. However, he stated that the security is the government’s responsibility and they help provide the third line of defence during processions.



Mehdi believes that the scouts act as a liaison between the participants of the procession and the security agencies during the Moharram processions as some of the mourners are emotionally charged and do not adhere to directions from the security agencies.

“Since we (scouts) do not carry arms the mourners listen to us and the procession remains well organised,” he explained.

Mehdi was of the view that the importance of the scouts cannot be undermined as they have a major role in processions with such a large number of participants.

During any unwanted situation, the scouts would be the first target since they are leading the procession, he said, referring to many terrorist attacks where scouts have laid down their lives protecting others.

On Moharram 10 (today), the Butarab Scouts group will lead the central procession while the Pak Hyderi Scouts will assist them.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2016.