Urs: Clerics conference on 2nd day of Shah Rukne Alam urs

Clerics from across the country participate in a national conference.

MULTAN:

On the second day of Hazrat Shah Rukne Alam’s 697th urs celebrations, clerics from across the country participated in a national conference. Caretaker of the shrine, Shah Mehmood Qureshi presided over the event and clerics spoke in detail about the current terrorism situation in the country. They condemned attacks on various shrines over the past two years and demanded that the government ensure the security of all shrines and places of worship.

“We need to stop this. The fact that people are now scared to perform their religious rituals and attend urs is very troubling,” Qureshi said, adding that the government needed to take the public on board in its fight against terrorism. Pilgrims from across the country including Sindh reached the shrine on Saturday but attendance was at an all time low following recent attacks in Dera Ghazi Khan. Large barriers have been placed at the entry point of the shrine and strong contingents of police have been deployed at the site. Barbed wire has also installed around the shrine to ensure security during the conference as well as for the final day of the urs on Monday.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11^th,  2011.